Twilight Crusade
by GreysonSkye
Summary: A prodigy, a runaway billionaire, a felon, and more oddities band together after the Fall of Beacon, forming Twilight Crusade. As they travel Remnant, helping the helpless and righting wrongs, they encounter a multitude of dangerous enemies. However, the deadliest of all is closer to each member than ever expected, and their sights are set on the destruction of Twilight Crusade.
1. Life Will Change

**Note: This series is a sequel to GRAE, and picks up right where the former series left off. Characters already introduced will not be described again.**

Greyson stood in front of Rusty, Azure, Ember, Raven, Dustyn, Ezelia, and Kita, the founding members of the newly formed Twilight Crusade. Greyson flicked the overhead light off, using his scroll to project onto the wall a holographic map of Remnant.

"...First of all, am I leader? If anyone else would care to take my position, please. Speak up," Greyson offered. The room was silent for the next several seconds. Rusty shook his head, and Raven glanced around at the others. "Alright. Guess that settles things. Now, it's obvious we can't stay here. The news is spreading about the Burgundy Bandit appearing, and Grimm still swarm Beacon. I believe it would be best for everyone if we take time to unwind. With that being said, I think our safest bet would be Vacuo. The lack of urban centers compared to Mistral and Atlas makes it most likely the last priority for whoever was behind today."

"Vacuo at this time of year is almost literally hot as hell. What would we even do there?" Ember questioned, not keen on the idea of spending her Summer in the middle of an arid desert.

"Well, I'm personally not sure, but Raven is from the area. Do you have any suggestions?" Greyson asked, turning to Raven.

Raven stiffened up as everyone in the room looked to her. "O-Oh. Uh... Well, th-there's Lago Del Sol Park," she nervously suggested. "I-It's a few miles away from this big dam, a-and it's next to a lake, so it might be a little colder... A-Almost all my good childhood m-memories come from there."

"That works. And the lake is a plus for sure," Greyson agreed. "We'll head for Vacuo tomorrow. With what money we have, we'll buy tents and food to last us as long as possible. For now, try to get some sleep."

"One more question," Ember asserted. "How are we going to get there?"

A sly smile came to Greyson's face, one that instantly worried Azure, as she knew just what it meant. It was the smile Greyson gave just before introducing one of his insane strategies.

"Bear with me, because this is going to sound crazy. We're going to steal an airship from the White Fang."

"Wait, that was a joke, right dude?" Rusty asked, forcing a laugh to keep the nerves at bay.

Azure let out a resigned sigh. "Something tells me he's serious..." she remarked.

The next night, Greyson led the others to Vale's docks. Greyson perched on the edge of one shipping container with the rest of Twilight Crusade behind him. A maze of crates was laid out in front of the eight teens, patrolled by several White Fang soldiers with rifles in hand. He tried to make out the safest path in the limited lighting, provided by the lights of the massive shipyard cranes above. Past the maze, one guard circled a smaller model of airship, one Greyson figured to be originally used for private travel, or perhaps medical personnel.

Either way, it was the perfect target to steal.

"Here's the plan. We'll make our way down, then make our way to that ship," Greyson quietly strategized. "But keep in mind, these are faunus. They can see us better than we can see them. We'll have to rely on sound."

Greyson took a last look to both sides, then snuck down the shipping container's side. Ember donned her Burgundy Bandit mask, and followed close behind.

"I still can't believe I agreed to this..." Azure mumbled, climbing down the side and planting her feet on the concrete ground. The rest followed.

"One more thing," Greyson declared. "I want no blood. If we should be caught, absolutely _no_ lethal force." He snuck forward, hugging the shadow to the side of one container, and listening intently for footsteps. The maze of crates continued forward until reaching a right turn. At the corner, Greyson knelt down, peeking the first inch of his face out. A White Fang grunt looked directly his way.

Greyson pulled back quickly, turning to his friends with index finger pointing in the air. He then brought it to his mouth.

"Huh? I could have sworn I saw something..." the White Fang grunt noted. He kept his eyes forward, then turned around. "Must have imagined it..."

Azure dashed out from hiding, firing a single electric arrow into the grunt's back. He stiffened like a board, and began to fall forward. Greyson lunged forward, grabbing the grunt and lowering him to the ground without a sound. He looked up to the next left turn, where he swore he heard voices.

"Man, why are we even here? They should have given Boss the key, I'm tempted to fly out and get food somewhere..." a female grunt complained.

"And what makes you think I'd fly out of here to buy you food?" a male grunt snapped. "Boss is new. Sure he's tough, but the higher-ups don't trust him yet."

Greyson peeked out around the turn, making out the forms of two more White Fang grunts, both facing away. Greyson raised two fingers to his crew, then pointed forward. Ember nodded.

Greyson and Ember dashed out in front of the rest, taking the two grunts by surprise. Greyson gracelessly rammed into the girl, knocking her to the floor and sending her dust rifle clattering noisily across the concrete. Ember jumped onto the male's back, covering his mouth, and ripping a golden scroll from his pocket. She kicked him forward, and the rest of Twilight Crusade sprinted around the two, and through the last several turns.

An alarm sounded, and a spotlight shone on Twilight Crusade, who continued running forward. Azure fired another electric arrow into the last guard as gunfire erupted from all directions, glancing off crates and the airship in front of Greyson. He jumped onboard, shoving the scroll into its slot on the dashboard. Once Greyson saw the rest of Twilight Crusade on the ship safely, the airship clumsily rose from the ground, pitched its nose upward, and flew between two containers toward downtown Vale, gunfire still assaulting the sides like a brutal hailstorm.

"CEASE FIRE!" A distorted, deep male voice growled, echoing throughout the shipyard. The bullets stopped instantly. Curiously, Dustyn made his way to the back window, looking down at the docks. A cloaked figure with a full-face mask stood in front of a dozen White Fang soldiers, looking up toward the rapidly ascending ship.

"That's strange, why would the White Fang stop shooting at humans that just stole their airship?" Greyson asked. "The only reason I could think of is they're there secretly."

"Probably it," Ember agreed. "Speaking of secrecy, aren't these things tracked?"

Greyson swore. "Didn't think of that. Rusty. Is there any way you know to block the tracking system?"

"Here, let me see," Rusty said, making his way over to the dashboard. He looked it over for a few seconds, messed with his scroll for a bit, and returned to the dashboard. "Yeah, I think I have something. System override should take a few minutes though." He inserted his scroll into the second slot on top of the dashboard, just in back of the key. "Hey, if we're gonna do more dope stuff like this, I can get used to being a member of Twilight Crusade!"

Twilight Crusade flew the several-hour long trip to Vacuo, Greyson's limited aviation skills proving themselves to be adequate. Azure occasionally read paragraphs from Greyson's aviation handbook as he asked, making sure the team landed safely.

Greyson landed the airship on a patch of dirt just outside Lago Del Sol Park, just as the Sun began to rise. Nearly everyone had fallen asleep, leaving only Greyson, Azure, and Kita, who Greyson had never seen asleep but always seemed to be perfectly well rested. Ember had nodded off in her seat, her face showing an unusually peaceful look. Raven had fallen asleep with her head in Rusty's lap. Dustyn and Ezelia lay on the floor a few feet away.

Greyson, Azure, and Kita stood just outside the airship together, taking in the early morning air, the first hints of desert heat floating in on the light breeze. The Sun rose over the crest of a surrounding cliff, painting the sky several shades of deep blue, orange, and red.

"Kind of symbolic, isn't it?" Greyson said, holding his hands behind his head. "Watching the Sun rise on our new life. Really, I haven't even thought yet about how much our life will change..."


	2. Lago Del Sol

Just after dawn, not long after Greyson and Azure had settled in and fallen asleep together, Rusty and Raven both woke up. As the morning had come, the two both decided to go about exploring their new home. Hand in hand, they walked around Lago Del Sol Park. The very first campers were beginning to wake up, some casting friendly waves at the couple and bids of good morning as they walked by. Everyone seemed to be in a pleasant mood.

Lago Del Sol Park was an oasis in the middle of the arid, remote, Vacuo desert. The park was located near the middle of a long, thin canyon. The canyon walls rose several hundred feet in every direction, the sheer cliff becoming steep, rocky hills decorated with desert scrub about halfway down. They seemed to protect the entire park, preventing any harm from finding its way into a family's Summer Vacation. A lake sat in the middle of the canyon, interrupted by several small, rocky islands. All campsites were clustered on one side of the lake; a long, wide hill sloping down gently to a beach area, complete with docks and a small restaurant. Rough, narrow concrete streets crisscrossed the hill, separated by small plots of grass, trees, and dirt. Nearly all of these squares of land were filled by campers. The main road in was newly paved, and seemingly separated the campground into two halves. To the right was an area of surprisingly green grass, creating a barrier between campsites and the road. On the left was a parking lot, then a small mini-golf course, and a souvenir shop.

The main road continued until it wrapped around a large cove on the lake's left side. On the other side of the cove was a rather spacious grassy area shaded by huge oak trees, a large children's playground, and several small, rocky beaches separated by tufts of trees and tall grasses.

Rusty watched from a swing with a loving smile on his face as Raven scampered around the playground, sliding down the slides and climbing across the monkey bars. She seemed to be reliving her childhood with a kind of gleeful innocence Rusty had never seen before from her.

After several minutes, Raven slid down a slide one final time, and made her way over to Rusty. She sat on the swing next to him, pushed herself backwards, and began lazily rocking forward and backward.

"You looked like you were having fun," Rusty noted, smiling slightly.

"It's just h-how I remember it here," Raven said happily. "Th-The only times I was really happy were when I would come here. Th-The people from my hometown didn't like faunus, b-but the families on vacation were so nice to me. But then, my ' _dad'_ stopped taking my mother and I..."

"Just hearing about your stepdad pisses me off," Rusty replied angrily. "It's like he went out of his way to make your life hell. I'm so sorry about that."

"W-Well, it's over now, I-I think. I wish I could see my mom again though, I-I haven't talked to her in forever..." Raven reflected.

"If we talk to Greyson, I'm sure he could pull something off. Dude's a genius. Thing is, we'll probably have to take her far away from here," Rusty contemplated.

Raven nodded. "B-But, since we're here, I'd rather talk about happier things," she reasoned. "I-I love you!"

Rusty smiled. "I love you too. You're actually, like, my idea of a perfect girlfriend..." he admitted with a nervous laugh.

After the rest of Twilight Crusade had woken up, Azure showered in the bathroom-building in the middle of the campground, then made her way down to the front office. After a bit of negotiation, it was decided Twilight Crusade could stay inside the park boundaries if they protected the grounds from Grimm. Greyson was delighted.

After everyone had showered, Greyson once again climbed into the driver's seat of the airship, then flew to the nearest town, situated just downriver from the massively wide Great Canyon Dam. The team got some startled looks as their airship landed in an empty section of a grocery store's parking lot. As Greyson left the vehicle, he figured out the true reason. A makeshift White Fang symbol was still painted on the side opposite the driver's side door.

"Hey, uh... you guys go on in. Azure has the list of stuff we need. I think I should start scraping this off," Greyson said, pointing to the White Fang symbol that had already started attracting an angry audience.

"Then I shall stay here and protect you," Kita valiantly replied, grabbing the handle of Kenakuma.

"Kita. Take the mask off. Keep your sword sheathed," Greyson ordered. "I just need some help with scraping this off."

Kita nodded. "As you wish," she responded. She returned to the airship to search for a tool to help remove the symbol. Greyson stayed outside, calmly explaining his situation to the angry citizens.

As Azure lead the rest of Twilight Crusade into the grocery store, Greyson and Kita got to work peeling off the paint. The early afternoon heat made the job easier, and the crowd began to dissipate, believing the strange group of people who had just landed to be relatively harmless huntsmen.

Just under an hour later, Azure returned with two boxed tents, a cartful of food, some swimwear, and the rest of Twilight Crusade. Greyson and Kita had just finished scraping away the last of the White Fang's paint, leaving a large section of the airship scratched and scuffed. The crew returned to Lago Del Sol Park, where they were given a plot of land large enough for their needs.

The campsite was on the end of one of the rows, and was semicircular in shape. On the flat end of the semicircle, Greyson parked the airship. Next to it was a concrete slab with a picnic table, a small, flat area of yellow-green grass, then four evenly spaced trees around the site's perimeter. Just before the four trees, Greyson decided, was where the two tents were to be set up. Two could sleep in each comfortably, and the airship held room for four to lay.

Raven looked in back of the airship, where the groceries sat. She grabbed black and yellow paint from a bag, then two large brushes. She placed them on the table, then grabbed a folded piece of paper from her pocket. She shyly walked over to Greyson, who was busy attempting to set up a tent with Rusty and Ember.

"E-Excuse me," Raven said, holding out the paper. "I-I... was thinking, maybe, we would want a symbol of some kind. So... I, I made this."

Greyson looked over Raven's sketch. The symbol was circular, depicting an ethereal wolf, with an arrow stuck through its gut, seemingly surrounding the Sun.

"Honestly..." Greyson began intently. Raven shifted nervously, averting her gaze to the ground. "... I love it. Go ahead and paint it on where the White Fang symbol was, if you'd please."

Raven smiled and nodded. She almost instantly got to work, Azure helping out.

"This heat is going to kill me," Ember bitterly remarked, painstakingly driving a tent stake into the cracked, parched dirt. "It has to be at least a hundred degrees, right?"

Greyson checked his scroll. "One hundred and five," he reported. As soon as we're done here, I'm loading up the ice chest and heading down to the lake."

Half an hour of tent wrangling, icebox-filling, and changing later, Twilight Crusade was ready to swim. Greyson wore grey board shorts to match his hair, and a black tank top. Azure wore a blue two-piece, with a flap down over the scar crossing her ribs. She and Greyson walked hand-in-hand in front of the others. Greyson was more than a little disconcerted by the amount of amount of gawking stares directed Azure's way, and jealous glares shot at him. However, Azure's eyes remained fixed on either Greyson, or the road to the lake. Raven dressed almost exactly like Greyson, far too shy to show anything more than swim trunks and a tanktop would allow. Kita had to be told by Ember, Raven, Azure, and Ezelia that clothes must be worn swimming at this park.

Azure seemed as if she had grown up in water. She swam, dove, and twisted around effortlessly as Greyson watched from the shore, occasionally splashing some of the refreshing lake water on his arms and face.

"Come on, don't you want to join me?" Azure asked as she swam closer to shore.

"Well, no. Not a big fan of water," Greyson admitted.

"You're telling me, the fearless, physically perfect, soon to be legendary Greyson Skye is afraid of water?" Azure teased.

"No!" Greyson insisted. "I'm not any of those things. I'm afraid of drowning!"

"Hey, that's actually reasonable!" Dustyn cut in. "Drowning is one of the biggest causes of death for people our age. And how sure are we that there are no aquatic grimm in this lake?"

Greyson took a single deep breath. "Dustyn, I know you're trying to help, but, that _really_ doesn't make it any better."

After a bit more encouragement, aided by the blistering heat, Greyson worked his way into waist-high water. Azure never left his side, dutifully making sure Greyson was not fearful of the lake. Raven waded around, until noticing Ember far off to her left, sitting alone under the shade of a small tree, the branches of which dipped into the water. Raven swam over.

"H-Hey... i-is everything alright?" Raven gently asked.

"I'm... sure I'll be fine, eventually..." Ember replied. She sighed, glancing down to the water near her feet. "Part of me wants to believe Pierce is still out there somewhere, but before he disappeared, he wanted to fight the White Fang's leader alone. The other part of me knows he's probably not coming back."

"W-Well, we don't know that for sure," Raven attempted to assure. "M-Maybe he's still somewhere in Vale, a-and he'll eventually find his way back, right?"

"I guess it's a possibility," Ember admitted, voice failing to mask just how little she believed in Pierce's well-being. "That's just how I look at things. If you're pessimistic, you're either right, or pleasantly surprised."

"B-But looking at it like that, it's a little bit ironic, i-isn't it?" Raven replied. "That's an optimistic view of pessimism."

Ember chuckled in amusement. "I guess you're right," she acknowledged. Her brief moment of happiness faded. "I don't admit things like this, but... I'm a little scared. Other than you guys, I've lost everyone I've ever been close to. That's why I act the way I do. I've always been selective about who I grow to like, but... I figured if no one wanted to get close to me, then I wouldn't have to suffer through more loss."

Raven paused at Ember's sudden confession, looking up to the canyon walls as if searching for something to say.

"Still, I've acted like this for so long, and it helped me survive years on the streets," Ember continued. "I don't think it's an act anymore."

"W-Well, I... I like it," Raven admitted. "I really like you, a-as a person. I think everyone does, now. And, I don't think you need to worry about it. We like you, a-and you don't need to change."

"Thanks," Ember sincerely responded. She looked to Greyson and Azure, then to the others closer to shore. "Anyway, you should go back and have fun. It looked like you were enjoying yourself."

"O-Okay," Raven responded. She turned around to return to the rest of her friends, feet sloshing in the ankle-deep water with every step. She turned around to face Ember once again. "Um, h-hang in there," she said with a slight nod, before turning back around.

That night, Greyson and Azure made dinner for Twilight Crusade on a small gas stove. Twilight Crusade lounged around on camp chairs and the picnic table well into the night, telling stories, discussing a multitude of topics, and becoming even closer than ever before, until one by one they retired to the tents and the airship. For most, their troubles seemed years behind them.


	3. Great Canyon Dam

Weeks passed peacefully. The members of Twilight Crusade spent their newly found free time playing games with the constant stream of tourists, with ultimate frisbee being a favorite, swimming, cliff jumping, and spending many evenings at mini golf. For the most part, everyone was happy. Raven occasionally dredged up unpleasant memories of her childhood, but was quickly comforted by Rusty and the rest of the group. Ember's skin was continuously marred by an unrelenting sunburn. No matter what amount of sunscreen she applied, "that bastard Sun" never let up. Greyson felt odd in the heat, as he could no longer comfortably wear his signature grey sweatshirt and black jeans, trading them out for a black tank top and grey shorts.

However, unpleasant memories and painful sunburns were not the only concern. Since the Fall of Beacon, rumors had spread about a new captain among the White Fang. He wore a dark hooded robe above his uniform. His mask was far different than the typical White Fang grunt mask, as it covered his entire face, and the usual red markings painted the outlines of a mammal's skull.

According to rumor, this dark figure was untouchable in combat, and had already defeated several top huntsmen and huntresses. Dustyn was convinced this was the man he saw order the ceasefire at Vale's docks.

"Heyyyyy, Greyson! Good morning!" Azure happily exclaimed, pouncing onto Greyson's sleeping bag. He groaned sleepily, and tried to roll over under Azure's weight.

"Do you know what day it is?" Azure asked.

Greyson gave her a tired smile. "The eighth of July?" he playfully asked in response.

"Yup! And..?" Azure hinted.

"My eighteenth birthday," Greyson responded.

Satisfied with Greyson's answer, Azure planted a kiss on his lips, then smiled. "I'm going to do everything I can to make this day as special as possible," she pledged. She sat up, hips resting on Greyson's lower stomach. "We're out in the middle of a desert wasteland, but there has to be _something_ to do..."

Greyson gave a small chuckle. "Could you start by getting off of me?" He lightly suggested. "It's hot in here, and I really need to use the restroom..."

Azure rolled off Greyson, and onto her back as Greyson sat up. "Hurry back to meeee," she lazily requested, arms stretched into the air.

Two hours later, everyone was awake and eating a freshly-cooked breakfast in the morning Sun. The day was not yet hot. Instead, a pleasant warmth drifted throughout the air on a slight breeze, along with the happy squeals of playing children, and the occasional barking dog.

"So, I have an idea on what to do for Greyson's birthday!" Azure exclaimed. "The Great Canyon Dam has tours available today, so we can head over there, get a tour, go to a nice dinner, then watch the light show they put on!"

"Well, that doesn't sound bad. How much does the whole thing cost? We're not exactly rolling in money out here," Greyson considered.

"The tour is free! I know I can't access my bank account anymore since I'm ' _dead,_ ' but I have some leftover cash," Azure said.

"Seems like just about the best option in this sandy hellhole," Ember added. "If we need money that badly, I can always go back to-"

"Ember, no. You know you don't want to either," Azure interrupted. "So, are you all up for it?"

Every member of Twilight Crusade agreed, but Greyson seemed wary. "Can we bring our weapons?" He asked.

Raven spoke up, shaking her head. "Th-The dam's always been tight o-on security. I would imagine they're even tighter after wh-what happened at Beacon."

"We should bring them," Ember asserted. "If Greyson's feeling the same way I am, foresight is kicking in. On the tour, don't get too cozy."

That afternoon, the members of Twilight Crusade had showered, changed into casual clothes suited for the warm weather, and landed their airship in the parking lot next to Great Canyon Dam. The view was breathtaking. Much of the canyon had been crossed by the mile-long concrete powerhouse. The side nearest the parking lot was several hundred feet tall, and the side opposite gave the illusion of being much shorter, thanks to the sheer volume of water being held back. On the side with less water, a city nestled into the river's curve. The small downtown district next to the river appeared to hold a couple blocks of restaurants and family-owned businesses, along with a single supermarket. A residential district sat beyond that, holding just over a hundred houses. As she walked into the dam, Raven wistfully glanced toward the city.

"Hey, Raven. You alright?" Rusty asked.

"Huh? Oh. Y-Yeah..." Raven answered unconvincingly. "This is the city where I grew up. I-I can even see my house. I want to see my mom so badly, b-but I know my stepdad won't let us in..."

"Hey, we can try though, right?" Rusty continued.

Raven shook her head. "I-I don't think it would be good to make him angry..." she gloomily responded. "L-Let's just enjoy this."

Tours began soon after Twilight Crusade arrived in the waiting area. Though each member's weapons attracted several confused, even concerned glances, Greyson insisted they remain in the open. Any hint of secrecy, he thought, would seem even more suspicious. Ezelia had attracted a rather large crowd of small children to her weapon. As she was about to leave the building to demonstrate her weapon's abilities as safely as possible, the tours began. As the former tour group exited their bus and walked through the waiting area, Greyson noticed one man staring him down. He was tall, and several years older than the members of Twilight Crusade. His hair was black on both sides, with a trail of white up the middle that spiked up over his forehead. He glared at Greyson with his dark eyes before continuing past the group, skunk tail twitching.

"Who are you, and why do you have so many weapons?" A security guard asked suspiciously.

"My name is Greyson," Greyson calmly answered. "My friends and I formed a band of huntsmen after the fall of Beacon. We mean no harm to anyone, but brought our weapons just in case something happens."

The security guard squinted. "Very well," he said in a gruff voice. "Just leave your weapons here, and enjoy the tour. We'll watch over them carefully."

Greyson nodded as a dam worker in a greyish-green outfit pushed a cart to the desk. He looked up from under his yellow helmet excitedly, revealing a greasy and disheveled yet friendly face. "Ye came from Beacon, eh?" the man asked. "You didn' happen to see tha Burgundy Bandit, did ye?"

"Not now, Fern," the gruff security guard interrupted. "We have a line to get through."

"Aw, but she was seen there!" Fern continued. "Crazy to think she fought the White Fang, always thought she wa' some kinda evil or somethin'..."

"Sorry, sir. We didn't see her at all," Greyson lied. He placed Blitz and Nimbus carefully into the cart, then led the others, now unarmed, to the tour bus.

"Damn, and now that Phantom, eh? Things are gettin' nuts," Fern reflected as he looked down to Twilight Crusade's weapons, then to the tour bus.

The first half of the tour was enjoyable, but unremarkable. As the bus drove around the front of the dam, the tour guide explained much of how the dam was built, the history of the area, and how the dam had helped farmers in the area. According to the guide, Great Canyon Dam was built shortly after the Great War. The dam's construction provided jobs in the tattered economy, and the resulting hydroelectric energy and irrigation caused nearby areas to flourish, turning from an uninhabitable desert to an area popular for agriculture and tourists.

The tour bus crossed the bridge, then parked close to the dam on the river's opposite side, allowing the tour group to look around atop the dam. Greyson felt a bit uneasy as he looked several hundred feet down the steep concrete face to the river below. He left after a few seconds, favoring the edge that looked out toward the lake of backed up water. After about ten minutes of picture taking and sightseeing, the group rode the elevator into the depths of the power plant.

Meanwhile, a masked, hooded figure stood on top of a nearby cliff, scanning the dam and its surroundings. His black cloak swayed ominously behind him in the breeze. The blood red outlines of a mammal's skull were painted onto the figure's white mask, lending the mysterious watcher a terrifying resemblance to the Grim Reaper.

"Beta. How's security in the dam?" The black figure asked in a monotone, inorganic, nearly robotic voice. The figure sounded as if he spoke through a voice changer. Ten White Fang members stood behind him, trying their best to hide how uncomfortably hot they were becoming in their black uniforms.

"Looks tight today. A group of huntsmen just walked in, too. Looks like the bastards that stole our ship," the closest White Fang reported. "We still going in?"

"Commence with the operation, but be wary. Go ahead and give a warning, too," the Phantom ordered. "The whole damn city's going to be swept away, but if they want to live to see it, let them." The Phantom slowly turned his head, looking at the city downstream of the dam.

"A backwards city, full of hatred. It's time nature took its course."


	4. Security Breach

Twilight Crusade, along with a preschool-age blonde girl, her mother, two other families, and the tour guide, expanded out of the cramped elevator into a dimly lit concrete hallway. Several small, old pictures depicting the dam's construction hung on the right wall. At the end of the hallway was a door to a long, thin room made almost entirely of windows.

The windows peeked into a colossal, but similarly shaped room. The lights on the high ceiling cloaked the expansive powerhouse in an odd yellow light. Fourteen massive, teal, hydroelectric turbines sat in a row, each one at least twenty feet tall, and twice as wide. The window room provided a direct view of the first two turbines, the other twelve stretching down the power plant to the right. The wall opposite the window room, about fifty feet away, seemed to be the control center. Next to the catwalk, which kept dam workers at the level of the turbines, several screens, cords, buttons, and a rainbow of small flashing lights covered the wall.

"This here is the heart of the Great Canyon Dam, and, in some sense, the heart of much of the Kingdom of Vacuo!" The tour guide announced proudly, nearly yelling to keep his voice above the drone of machinery. "This is where much of the hydroelectric power is harnessed. In fact, each one of these turbines generates enough energy in one hour to power Great Canyon City for three days!"

The little girl in the group let out a high-pitched sound of enthusiasm. She led her mother to the window, and pressed her face to the glass, fascinated by the size of the generators. Raven took Greyson and Azure's picture next to the window, and Azure took Raven and Rusty's in turn. Ember glanced curiously and quietly out across the power plant, seemingly interested in the gigantic turbines.

"Hey, tour guide man?" Dustyn asked.

"Yes sir?" The guide answered.

"So, in a hypothetical situation, what would happen if the dam suddenly disappeared? Like, the water was still behind it and everything."

"Well, it would be extremely inconvenient," the guide answered. "Much of Vacuo's power would be shut off, and I'd imagine it would hurt farmers and the local economy quite a bit. Also, with nothing to hold the water, Great Canyon City would probably stop existing."

"Yikes," Dustyn replied. He turned to look at the generators with Ezelia. Five minutes later, the tour group continued on its way, walking through a door on the opposite side of the room, and deeper into the dam.

The tour group walked together down a long, dark, stairway. The hum of the generators was the only sound in the damp, stone passageway. Breaking the silence, and causing a few members of the tour group to jump, the tour guide's portable radio suddenly screamed with static.

"White... are... the dam," the man on the other end warned, half the message obscured by static. "...take... secr... om."

The tour guide stopped, grabbing the radio from his waist, and turning the volume down. "Group three here. Can you repeat that message?"

"White Fang are in the dam!" the man on the radio shouted. "TAKE THE TOUR GROUP INTO THE SECRET ROOM!"

The entire tour group's hearts sunk, eyes going wide with fear. "Here, follow me. Keep quiet," the usually upbeat tour guide commanded soberly. He continued down the stairs, stopping in the small room just before two heavy yellow doors. The guide pressed his left palm to the right wall. A green light next to the yellow doors lit up, and the touched wall slid aside to reveal a small concrete room. The room was minimally decorated, with one light hanging above fifteen simple folding chairs. A shelf in the small corner contained a pack of water bottles, and a modest selection of cheap snacks.

Once inside the room, the small girl began to weep, her mother holding her. "Don't worry, they won't find us in here," the mother assured, gently bouncing her daughter on her knee. She seemed to be trying to convince herself as much as her daughter.

Azure walked over, and knelt next to the two. "Excuse me, may I hold your child for a second?" she inquired. After a brief thought, the girl's mother agreed, and handed the girl over to Azure.

Azure looked into the girl's eyes, smiling slightly. She put one hand on her shoulder. "We're well hidden here, please don't cry," she gently assuaged.

The small child's cries began to slow. "Please, don't be afraid. Even if something bad starts to happen, those seven people over there are some of the strongest huntsmen and huntresses I know."

"H-Hunters?" the little girl asked, wiping away the last of her tears.

"Yep! We went to Beacon, so we know how to deal with this kind of thing," Azure continued. "You'll be fine in here. Please, don't worry."

The little girl began to trade her tears for a light smile. Then, the dam's loudspeaker crackled as it turned on.

"This is the White Fang's Phantom," a monotone, robotic voice said. "We've planted a bomb in the main powerhouse. All workers and visitors to the dam have five minutes to evacuate. To say this dam created jobs for locals after the Great War is nothing short of a lie. This dam was built on slave faunus labor. Great Canyon City, a haven of discrimination for those who founded it, will be wiped from the map."

The small girl cried again, with a shrill, horrified scream. Greyson felt his heart sink as he heard the Phantom's voice. Shaking with fear, the tour guide opened the doors again, and beckoned for the group to exit quickly but carefully.

As Greyson briskly walked through the powerhouse observatory, he looked down into the powerhouse. Five White Fang members stood on one of the turbines. A large black box, the size of two of the members combined, sat in the middle of them. Greyson was disgusted at his own powerlessness.

"Five members here, this can't be all they brought," Greyson quietly noted. "Where's the Phantom?"

As the elevator doors opened, Greyson saw a familiar face. Fern, the employee that asked about the Burgundy Bandit at the entrance, had managed to sneak past the White Fang, pushing his cart full of Twilight Crusade's weapons.

"Whew, I found ye guys!" The employee exclaimed excitedly. "I hate to ask this of ya, but if the dam goes out, who knows what'll happen! Can ye take care of them?"

Greyson nodded, a confident smirk coming to his face. "Eight of us against five of them," he analyzed, picking out Blitz and Nimbus from the cart. "We've had much worse odds than this."

Azure grabbed her Moonbow, then turned to her new friend. "We'll take care of this. Be safe, okay?"

The girl smiled through her tears. "Okay! Me and mommy will be safe! Beat the bad guys!" she cheered

Her mother looked at Greyson, Azure, and the six others who all grabbed their weapons from the cart. "Who are you guys?" She asked.

Greyson looked at her, the confident smirk still on his face.

"We're Twilight Crusade."


	5. Phantom Squadron

The five White Fang grunts lounged around the middle generator, protecting the colossal bomb. One nervously fiddled with the back wall's control panel. Two more sat next to the bomb, glancing around the power plant.

"So... what exactly did Boss tell us to do again?" the female grunt, closest to the bomb, asked. "We're not staying here the _whole_ time, right?"

"We leave when the countdown hits ninety seconds," the tallest grunt reported. He tucked a lock of white hair back behind his mask. "It's only been two minutes since activation. Don't piss yourself."

"Do you even realize how big this thing is?" the female grunt snapped. "It's desgined to blow this _entire_ place to bits! How far can we get in a minute and a half!?"

Greyson led Twilight Crusade through the windowed powerhouse observatory. He had only an idea of how much time had passed, and he knew five minutes would pass quickly in a life-or-death situation. Just before the door into the powerhouse, Greyson turned to the rest of Twilight Crusade.

"Everyone. Our goal is to defuse the bomb, but I know the White Fang won't let us do it without a fight. Your order is to avoid killing, unless your life is in imminent danger," he commanded. As Azure, Rusty, Ember, Raven, Dustyn, Ezelia, and Kita affirmed their leader's message, Greyson opened the door.

"Members of the White Fang! Surrender now and you will not be harmed!" Greyson yelled, holding Blitz and Nimbus threateningly in shotgun form. He was now on the catwalk, briskly approaching the turbine with the bomb.

"And now _this_ happens?" the female grunt lamented. "Beta! What do we do!?"

"Of course we kill them," the tall grunt replied. "Just do it quickly."

Gunfire erupted from three enemy dust rifles. Kita dashed in front of Greyson, parrying all the bullets with surreal reaction time. Several dust pellets flew toward the grunts while others clanged as they lodged in the walls and floor. Kita sheathed her blade as Greyson jumped into the air and planted his foot in the face of one shooter. As another White Fang member jumped at Greyson, Rusty wrapped the steel wire of Child's Play around his feet, and Dustyn tackled him to the floor.

The female White Fang member jumped off the catwalk, onto the floor next to the turbine, and nimbly climbed back up behind the rest of Twilight Crusade. Raven barely had enough time to deploy her shield before being attacked by two tonfa-like blades. Raven punched outward with her shield, and parried two more attacks with her sword as they came. Raven and the grunt traded a couple more blows, before Raven's blade locked with her enemy's tonfas. As the two put all their strength into holding the other off, Raven looked into the eye-slots of the young woman's mask. She seemed to be looking down, to a lock of Raven's feathered hair that had draped over her arm.

"Wait... your hair! You're a faunus, aren't you?" Raven's enemy asked.

"Y-Yes. B-But I'm not one of you!" Raven replied defiantly.

"Why do you fight us? Humans do nothing but look down on, discriminate against, and even kill faunus! How can you stand to be part of a group of people that hate you!?" the female grunt yelled.

"Humans... c-an be racist, a-and oppressive. I... I know that all too well. But these people I fight with a-are my only friends. A-And they're humans!" Raven said. "N-Not all humans are oppressive, just as not all faunus are Wh-White Fang. B-Blindly hating one side, either humans or faunus, i-is the reason why the hate continues!"

"If you choose to think that, go ahead," the woman welcomed. "The lives of my mother, father, and two little sisters were taken by humans in one horrible night. I'm in this for revenge. But, I won't fight you." She pulled her tonfas free of Raven's sword, knocked her to the ground, and lunged at Azure. "I'll kill the Schnee!" she yelled.

Azure turned instantly, and twisted the handle of her Moonbow until the bow glowed yellow. She shot a single dust arrow into her attacker's leg, causing her to fall to the ground, shaking violently as she lost all muscle control.

"It's only neuromuscular incapacitation," Azure sweetly assured. "The pain will pass, so don't worry."

"Two left, huh?" Ember noted. "It's been a while. We should get on the bomb."

Greyson nodded, then ran forward with Kita and Ember. Ember flipped two knives from her belt, and charged into "Beta," who had been fighting Rusty and Ezelia. She parried his large cutlass with her much smaller dagger, spun, then smashed his hand with the same dagger's handle. He yelled as he dropped his cutlass. Ember jumped into the air, and kicked him into the ground.

"There's no mistaking it, you're the Burgundy Bandit!" Beta yelled. He tried getting up, but was felled again by Ember's kick to his jaw. "You bitch! You wiped out squad seven when Beacon Fell!"

Ember pushed Beta's face into the cement with her boot, looking down on him with a cold, furious, amber glare. "Careful, that's not a very nice thing to call a lady," she replied coolly. "You were the ones wiping out innocent civilians. I was simply on pest control."

"Ember! Ask him how to defuse this thing!" Greyson commanded from the bomb. He and Kita had no trouble dealing with the final White Fang grunt. "There's a number pad and four wires! Thirty seconds!"

"You heard him. Tell me," Ember ordered. She spun a dagger in her hand, knelt down with a knee in beta's back and a foot on his arm. He grunted as Ember pulled his head back, and lifted her steel blade dangerously close to his throat.

Beta merely grinned. "So what if you kill me? You get nothing out of it. The bomb still explodes, you all die, and the White Fang still wins. If you don't kill me, and I hold out the entire thirty seconds, the bomb explodes. Either way, you've already lost."

"Seven seconds!" Greyson shouted, voice cracking with mounting anxiety.

"THE CODE IS 61147! CUT THE RED AND BLACK WIRES!" a shaky voice yelled. The cowardly grunt was being restrained by Kita, Kenakuma held to his throat. The sly grin faded from Beta's face, replaced by an irritated grimace.

Greyson's hands trembled as he cut the red wire, skipped the white, and severed the black, as delicately as a surgeon. He punched the code into the number pad.

The flashing red light on front of the bomb was replaced by a sustained green light. Greyson sighed with relief as the two second warning disappeared.

"You're lucky I'm not the person I was a year ago," Ember warned. "If I was, I would have duplicated that stupid grin of yours onto your throat." She let go of Beta, with a final kick for good measure.

Azure walked over to a rather old-fashioned wall mounted telephone. After a brief pause for consideration, she held down a button that said "intercom."

"All workers and guests of the Great Canyon Dam. The bomb has been defused! You are safe!" she called into the phone. "Five suspects are in custody, but do be careful in and around the dam, as there may be more."

Greyson grabbed the White Fang member who blurted the defusal directions. Ember grabbed Beta, Kita grabbed the female White Fang member, and Dustyn and Ezelia took the other two. Escorting the White Fang members, Twilight Crusade walked to the elevator, which they planned to take to meet the police on the surface.

As the elevator doors opened with a deceptively peaceful ding, Greyson froze. He first saw two black boots planted on the ground in front of him. His gaze slowly shifted upward to see a pitch black cloak, a White Fang uniform, and a White Fang mask, painted in red to look like a skull. Greyson felt the icy hand of fear grip his heart.

He stood face to face with an infamous, unbeatable, _untouchable_ criminal. The White Fang's "Phantom."

Greyson had to look down slightly to see the opposing figure, which slowly walked out of the elevator, cloak trailing behind. The Phantom looked at Greyson's face. Greyson shivered, and cast his terrified glance to the ground at his side.

"Who are you?" The Phantom simply asked.

"Er, oh. Uh, We're... Twilight Crusade," Greyson stumbled.

"Twilight Crusade..." The Phantom repeated. "I'll spare your lives today. But from now on, stay out of our way."

"Uh. R-Right..." Greyson replied.

"Good," the Phantom responded curtly. "Now. Why don't we all enjoy a nice little ride back to the surface, shall we?"


	6. Celebration

Greyson's eyes held opened wide the entire ride up the elevator. His arms shook as they held the White Fang grunt in place, imagining what horrible plans the Phantom had for him and his friends. The only sound that could be heard was the lift motor, and whirr of machinery. After what felt like an eternity, the metal doors slid open. The Sun beamed into the elevator, the now familiar desert heat wrapping Greyson in a tight embrace. Half a dozen police officers guarded the entrance, guns drawn. Their squad cars were parked in a semicircle around the elevator, lights flashing.

The Phantom calmly walked to the front of the group. He came within five feet of the closest officer's gun.

"On your knees! Hands where I can see them!" the commanding officer shouted. The Phantom subtly tapped his right foot twice on the ground before complying.

A wide grin came to Beta's face, and a suffocating, greyish-green mist instantly shrouded Twilight Crusade, the White Fang, and the police. A horrendous stench filled Greyson's nose; a stench he instantly recognized from the forests of Mistral. Skunk. He fought through the odor, gasping and grasping for clear air but finding none. Greyson's eyes stung, after seconds of struggle, he passed out.

"Beta, no matter how many times you use your semblance, I never quite get used to the smell," a female's voice reprimanded playfully.

"Well Gamma, at least you don't pass out anymore, like these lightweights," Beta responded. He spotted Ember, who lay unconscious on the ground with the others. Beta grabbed her by her neck, and lifted her up to show the Phantom.

"Alpha, I suggest we kill this one," Beta suggested without a hint of remorse.

"Put her down," the Phantom simply commanded.

"Like, as in-"

"Let her go."

Beta let Ember crumple painfully to the concrete. "Whatever. It's the Burgundy Bandit. She's probably the only one of these guys we need to worry about. 'Cept maybe the mask girl over there," he reasoned. "Why don't we just finish her now? It'll send a message."

"What I say is what we do," The Phantom responded forcefully. "Leave her. If Twilight Crusade keeps getting in our way, we can let the public know they're working with such a dangerous criminal."

"Ah, that's like our captain!" Gamma, the female White Fang grunt, added. "If they're revealed to be working with her, who will trust them? Good thinking!"

"Gamma. Stop kissing ass for one second. _Please?_ " Beta replied. The Phantom's squadron all retreated through the choking fog, escaping off the dam and into the desert.

A female voice entered Greyson's mind, echoing and reverberating as if the woman spoke from underwater. Greyson knew the voice to be familiar, one he had heard every day for the past several months. Yet, he could not quite make out what Azure was saying.

"...Greyson? You okay?" were the first words Greyson heard clearly. He opened his eyes to see Azure above him, her head surrounded by a halo of sunlight. "Here, I'll help," she offered, extending a hand toward him. He took it, and was helped to his feet.

"You were out for a while there. The police had enough time to wake up and question us already," Azure stated.

"So, they all got away?" Greyson asked somewhat bitterly.

"Yes, we were unable to apprehend the Phantom or any of his accomplices," the police chief reported from behind Greyson. Greyson turned to face him. "However, we thank you for the work you were able to accomplish. No doubt your actions saved countless lives, and billions of lien."

Greyson nodded and smiled very slightly, reassured of he and his friends' accomplishments. "We couldn't have done it without the worker who delivered us our weapons. If you can reach him, please thank him for me. I think his name was Fern."

The police chief nodded. "Understood. Thank you again!" He concluded, waving as he opened his car door and stepped in.

"Man, that elevator ride was awkward as hell..." Rusty bitterly reflected, looking back to the door into the dam.

"I... I think I almost fainted..." Raven embarrassedly admitted.

Quick, light footsteps were heard just after the police officer left. Azure spun around to see the little girl she had comforted inside the dam running toward her. The girl nearly pounced on Azure, wrapping her arms around Azure's thighs in a tight hug.

"I knew you guys could do it! Thank you for saving everyone!" The little girl thanked. She moved back and forth happily, still in a hug.

"Waaah! You're welcome!" Azure replied, flailing her arms as she teetered off balance. "Please, be careful though sweetie. You might make me fall over!"

"I'm sorry..." The girl responded, pulling back with a guilty pout. "But you should take a bath! You're stinky!"

Azure let out a light, genuine laugh. "She's right, Greyson. Before we do anything else today, we should go back and clean this smell off. It's just after two, so we'll have time," she suggested. She bid the little girl one final goodbye before joining Greyson and the others in the airship, and flying back to camp.

In the evening, Twilight Crusade had all gathered at a high-end burger restaurant just downstream of the Great Canyon Dam. The outside was rather drab, an intentionally weathered wooden building fashioned to look like an old-fashioned bar. Inside, the interior was rustic, yet seemingly new and full of life. Small model trains buzzed about overhead, and old mining equipment, horseshoes, pictures, and other collectible items decorated the oak walls.

Not long after finishing his satisfying, good-tasting meal, Greyson made his way to the restrooms to wash his hands clean. As he was gone, Azure signaled a waitress over to the table.

"Would you like your bill now?" The waitress politely asked, both hands on the checkbook.

"Not quite yet," Azure said. "Do you have birthday specials? It's someone very special's eighteenth birthday today!"

"Yes! We provide complimentary hot fudge sundaes for birthdays," the waitress offered. She looked at Raven and smiled. "We also offer half-price desserts to children twelve and under! Would you like that?"

"I-I'm eighteen..." Raven responded with a slight, nervous laugh.

"Oh! Well. I- er, I'm sorry. I'll get the ice cream," the waitress awkwardly concluded. She nearly ran toward the kitchen, her pink ponytail bobbing with every hasty step.

A minute later, Greyson returned to the table. A minute after that, a long train of waiters and waitresses exited the kitchen, boisterously singing their well-wishes for Greyson's birthday. They gathered around Greyson's table like a swarm. A look of betrayal came to Greyson's face as he felt the entire restaurant's eyes burning into him. A party hat was placed on his head.

What was placed in front of him alleviated his nerves slightly. A large hot fudge sundae sat on the table, complete with a cherry on top, several spoons, and a single candle sticking out awkwardly to the side.

"Go ahead, make a wish!" Azure happily welcomed.

Greyson paused. After a few seconds had passed, the perfect wish came to his mind. " _I wish for the safety of everyone at this table, and everyone who may join us in the future,_ " he thought. He blew the candle out, and much of the restaurant clapped.

Greyson welcomed everyone at the table to have a single spoonful first, in a tactic Greyson created to balance the joy of sharing and his complete disgust with germs. Then, he and Azure ate the rest together.

"Wow, Greyson is actually letting you reuse your spoon?" Rusty lightheartedly noted. "He hates germs!" He took a large gulp of water.

"Y-Yeah... he must really trust you," Raven added. "I-I think that's cute."

"Oh, it's nothing. We've done a lot more than just share spoons before," Azure dismissed. Greyson and Raven both looked horrified. Rusty nearly spit his drink across the table with shock.

"It's a little less cute now..." Dustyn commented defeatedly.

At ten that night, a large crowd had gathered on the right bank of the river, where an amphitheater stood facing the dam. The laser light show then began, an impressive display of light flashing over the dam's face as speakers blasted a long history of the dam, the surrounding area, and the kingdom of Vacuo itself. Being a fan of history, Greyson loved it.

That night, all eight members of Twilight Crusade flew back to camp in one piece. As music quietly played on the airship's radio, Azure, Dustyn and Ezelia slept, Rusty and Raven quietly played handheld video games together on their scrolls, Ember looked out the window toward the sparse dots of light scattered across the desert, and Kita simply sat still, barely visible in the airship's darkest corner. Not long after arriving at camp, all had retired to their tents, thankful to have survived the day.


	7. Goldriver Gulch

Far from the arid deserts of Vacuo, the Phantom stood on the roof of a tall building, taking in the crisp night air of downtown Mistral. Through his mask, he watched the city several stories below. The night was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday night. Every minute or so, a single car would work its way down the street, then turn away, never to be seen again. Though streetlights coated the ground below in an orange glow, lights in most buildings were dark, their doors having closed hours before. In a few more hours, the Sun would rise, to change the deep, dark, starry black sky into blue.

The Phantom heard a click from behind him, then the drawn-out creak of a rusty door opening slowly. Several pairs of footsteps approached from behind.

"Beta. Have the preparations been made?" the Phantom asked without turning.

"Yes, sir. We've rigged everything up," Beta reported. "What's your command now?"

"We wait. Don't make a scene, or this will end up just like the fiasco back at the dam. Stay in hiding," the Phantom ordered.

"Understood," Beta affirmed. "Demolition set for ten in the morning. That should catch them."

The Phantom nodded once. "Good," he simply said. He turned around, and walked to the rooftop exit as his cloak trailed behind. The ten grunts under his direct command split up to let him pass, then followed the Phantom.

" _As you've probably heard most of this morning, thirteen are dead and sixteen more have been injured in a brutal terror attack in downtown Mistral,_ " a radio news station reported from outside the tent Greyson shared with Azure. " _While no arrests have been made, explosives nearly identical to the defused bomb set in the Great Canyon Dam by the White Fang are reported to have been located on the crime scene. Authorities continue to investigate._ "

Greyson lay on his stomach, covered up to his waist by his sleeping bag. The early afternoon had already come, but he had not even bothered to change yet. His sleeping bag was uncomfortably hot, and his thirst was near unbearable. Still, Greyson continued to read news articles on his scroll, thoroughly searching every report on the incident to find clues on who did it, why, and where they will strike next.

"Think it could have been the Phantom again?" Azure asked. She lay on her side right next to Greyson, still in her pajamas.

"Could be. Most definitely a White Fang attack though," Greyson answered. "The reports say the explosives were the exact kind that were about to be used in the Great Canyon Dam. No matter who did it, it's disgusting. Why bomb a church?"

"Agreed. This just makes me want to fight them more," Azure said. "By the way, do you have any plans for our next move, captain?"

"Well, I'm not in the mood today, because this bombing hit a little too close to home. But, I was thinking we could visit Goldriver Gulch. It's another place rich in history," Greyson suggested. "I'm getting a little bored out here. Not enough grimm for me. I mean, can they even live in the desert?"

Azure giggled a bit. "You know, most people would cherish this peace," she playfully reminded. "You're kinda strange sometimes, thinking of fighting terrifying monsters as a way to pass time..."

"Well, it's just about all I'm good at," Greyson replied with a lazy smile. He climbed out of his sleeping bag, opened the tent, and rubbed his eyes as they adjusted to the sun. Rusty, Raven, and Ezelia sat at the table, playing cards and listening to the radio.

"You heard, right?" Rusty asked. "About the bombing?"

Greyson nodded. "Yeah. My family's okay, but they say it was only a few blocks away from the Café. My dad was working, he heard the blast."

"Damn. What was it called again? Church of Awakening?" Rusty casually continued, placing two of his cards on the table.

"Yeah, that's it," Greyson affirmed, taking a seat across from Raven. He reached for a cup, and started to pour from a pitcher of ice water. "I've seen the building before, too. Apparently it's not much more than a pile of rubble now."

"I don't understand why the White fang would target a church, of all places," Rusty questioned.

"I don't think anyone does," Greyson replied. "A lot of churches these days are the more faunus-inclusive places. They say the Brother of Light and the Brother of Darkness created human _and_ faunus together."

"Maybe they were trying to send a message," Ezelia suggested. "But really, all it does is give a bad name to faunus."

Raven nodded sadly. "B-But... has th-the news said what kind of church it was? L-Like, what religion?"

Greyson shook his head. "Not a word," he reported.

The rest of the day was lazy. Greyson, fed up with the bad news and his inability to do a thing about it, shut off the news shortly after his shower. The next morning, Greyson and Azure had a much earlier start. Before noon, all members of Twilight Crusade had showered, eaten, and were ready to leave camp.

Once they had arrived at Goldriver Gulch, Twilight Crusade took up a middle aged woman on her offer of a horse-drawn carriage tour. Goldriver Gulch was a town that seemed to have frozen two hundred years in the past, long before the days of the Great War. Men in tall, wide brimmed hats, flannel tops and dusty jeans traveled the streets on horseback. Women wore lacy, fluffy, pastel dresses, their only defense from the scorching heat and searing Sun being the dainty fans they waved toward their faces. The main street was a wide, well-walked dirt road, extending only about three city blocks. At the end stood a light blue, three-story wooden building, complete with a giant clock on front and golden bell on top. The main street was lined with various aged wooden buildings, ranging from bars, to grocery and souvenir stores.

The surrounding area seemed to be as arid as the rest of Vacuo. A mostly dried riverbed snaked around the town's east side. Small creatures occasionally scampered from scrub to scrub in the vast expanse of cracked dirt. Tall hoodoos rose into the sky at random, adding the slightest hint of variety to the otherwise flat, brown, land.

The first place Greyson and the others visited was a deep mine on the outskirts of town, for which the city was named. Over two hundred years ago, the tour guide said, gold had first been found, causing a flood of hopeful pioneers to come into the small city. Luck dried up along with the river just before the Great War, and Goldriver Gulch had been left a ghost town since. All the current inhabitants were the descendants of the brave, hardy, souls who continued living in the area after most of the city left.

The tour woman dropped Twilight Crusade off in front of an old saloon, and took off down the road, in the direction of the bell building. Without much of an idea on what else to do after the tour, they entered the building in front of them.

The scent of tobacco instantly hit the eight teens, nearly causing Greyson to leave. He decided to walk further in, and sit by the counter. He was not of age to order much of anything on the menu, nor did he care to. As the last of Twilight Crusade sat down, they received a dozen curious looks, one each from every patron.

"You folks new around here?" The bartender, a large, portly man with a thick mustache and a tangle of brown hair asked. The question was unnecessary. Greyson and the others looked as if they had come from the distant future, and had no idea what business they had in the past.

"Er, yeah. On vacation," Greyson replied. "Have any non-alcoholic options?"

The bartender chuckled in derision, and a handful of others joined in. "We got water," the bartender dryly suggested, inciting more laughter. "Don't drink too much though, we're damn near dry."

"Hey, Greyson? I think maybe we should try somewhere else..." Azure said cautiously.

"Yeah," Rusty agreed. "This place is a little rough-and-tumble for my tastes." He lowered his voice. "And Raven seems a little bit-"

The rest of Rusty's sentence was cut off by a bell outside, clanging several times in rapid succession. Greyson knew instantly it was no hour announcement. The urgency in the tone was something else entirely; a warning of disaster. An old-fashioned version of the alarm that blared in Amity Colosseum on the night of Beacon's fall.

The bartender instantly pressed a button behind the counter, causing a large trapdoor to open in the middle of the room. Every customer quickly rushed in, leaving just one alone in the bar's darkest corner. Out the window, Greyson could see men and women dropping everything and sprinting into the closest buildings. Greyson felt the ground under his feet shaking. Slightly at first, but increasing in intensity. Greyson froze, watching the world spinning around him. He hoped whatever was happening, was nothing like the Fall of Beacon.

 **Well, I've asked a lot of questions about your favorite parts of GRAE/ Twilight Crusade, but here's one more. What is, in your opinion, the best fight in the series so far?**


	8. Sandstorm

"Wait, what the hell is going on?" Greyson asked frantically, watching civilians scattering throughout the streets, looks of terror etched into their screaming faces. The bartender ushered his guests through the metallic trapdoor, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"You kids never been attacked by the grimm before?" a gravelly, unenthused voice answered from the darkest corner of the bar.

Greyson looked over to the corner with a scowl. His eyes settled on a stereotypical cowboy, smoking a cigar, with the brim of his hat dipped low over his face. His legs were crossed, brown boots propped up on the rickety table. He seemed to have no intention of evacuating.

"So it's just the grimm?" Greyson said. "Guys, let's go. We have to protect the people of this city!"

The man in the corner chuckled. "You kids really ain't seen the grimm yet," he stated.

Greyson's scowl intensified into fierce glare. "I don't know who you think you are," he said hotly. "But we were there at the fall of Beacon. We cut a bloody path through the grimm and survived." Greyson unsheathed Nimbus. "Now, we'll do it again. Go ahead and sit here. Just know the reason you can is that we're out there!"

The man in the corner let out another dusty chuckle, and was eventually joined by a couple of the more jaded-looking customers still in the bar. "Not sure if you've got guts or yer just damn stupid," the man in the corner said, puffing smoke from his cigar. "You had one victory, now yer head's in the sky and there ain't a brain inside it. Not a soul here who can face an attack like this and survive."

"Maybe not a soul who lives here, but there's no way I'll be killed by those damned things!" Greyson contested. He turned away, striding with determination to the door. As he left, he could see what looked like a sandstorm on the horizon, visible from the town's main road. Upon second glance, he saw countless black dots, their rapid approach stirring the sand into a wall of brown clouds. "Looks like that's the enemy. Let's go," he commanded, regaining his usually calm demeanor.

Greyson led the others a significant distance outside of the town. The grimm were still fast approaching. The approaching grimm looked to be species Greyson had never seen before, apart from several deathstalkers and nevermore.

"Raven, do you know anything about the grimm around here?" Greyson asked, turning his head but keeping an eye on the approaching monsters.

"Umm, yeah. Th-There are Whitefins, their heads a-are weird and eyeless, and they have two large arms, and s-some smaller legs toward the back. Th-there are also Earthworms, wh-which are exactly like what they sound like, b-but bigger..." Raven recalled. "I really hope there aren't any, b-but there are also Mud Barons... they l-look like dinosaurs, and have r-really big, scary heads... They're almost completely armored, s-so they're _really_ hard to kill..."

Greyson nodded once, looking at the approaching grimm. "Azure, Dustyn. I want you two to handle the Nevermores. Stay at a distance. Maybe at that rock back there," Greyson ordered, pointing toward a boulder nearer to the entrance of Goldriver Gulch. "Raven, I'd like you and Ezelia to take on the Whitefins. Rusty, Kita, Ember and I will take whatever is nearest to us."

As the grimm came within range, Azure, Dustyn, and Raven opened fire with their ranged weapons, dropping several grimm to the dirt. Greyson ran forward to intercept a particularly unfortunate Deathstalker. After dodging one swipe, he cleaved off the beast's right claw, then shot a blast from Blitz into its face. As the enraged monster lowered its stinger, Kita dashed behind it, cut the tail clean from its body, then emitted a dark pulse from Kenakuma, cutting the deathstalker in half.

Still firing shots behind them, Azure and Dustyn retreated from the heat of battle. Azure sniped several Nevermore from the air with her Moonbow, Dustyn providing additional fire with his naginata-rifle combo, which he had appropriately decided to name "Boomstick." The two had some difficulty as the sandstorm obscured the battle, yet continued firing shots as they saw grimm.

Two white fins the size of minivans tore through the sand, leaving a wake of dry, unravelled earth behind them. Raven and Ezelia cut in front of the monsters' path toward the city, prepared to fight.

With screeching roars, both monsters simultaneously erupted from the dirt. As Greyson looked back at Raven and Ezelia, he saw two monsters he had never seen before. Both had armored, hexagonal, eyeless faces the size of a man, and jagged mandibles below the beast's toothed upper jaw. Two bulky arms supported their upper bodies, with six more, smaller legs in back. A large, white, armored fin at the creatures' back completed the disturbing, nearly alien look.

Ezelia did not seem fazed. As one screeching Whitefin attempted to swallow her whole, she yelled in joy, smashing its head aside with the axe form of Grimm Cat. Raven tumbled out of the way of the other monster's claws, then slashed at its body, backed off, and fired several crossbow bolts at both monsters. Ezelia transformed her weapon into its giant sword form, and jumped to the nearest whitefin's right side as she left a gash down its flank. She pulled back with another attack while the beast recoiled, and finished it with a third blow behind the head.

Raven blocked a powerful punch from her beast, which knocked her to the Earth at Ezelia's feet. Four more fins burst from the cloud of dust. The whitefins sent dirt flying as they ruptured the ground with hellish screams. Raven's eyes went wide with fear. She saw herself surrounded by five grimm, each able to swallow her whole. Even Ezelia backed off a bit cautiously, coming back to back with Raven.

"Man, this one's gonna be tough, huh?" Ezelia noted. She looked past one grimm, watching Greyson and Kita fight off two huge deathstalkers and another whitefin. "The others look busy, too. You ready for this?"

Raven's eyes remained fixed in front of her, body frozen. She made no hint of hearing Ezelia's words. All she knew was fear. Indescribable terror that shook her entire body, and seized every part of her mind. She was made catatonic as the fear took hold of her entire being.

The largest whitefin let out an uncanny purring noise, before stomping the ground once. The other whitefins stomped in reply.

"...Raven? You're okay, right?" Ezelia continued frantically. She screamed, raising Grimm Cat above her head as all five whitefins pounced at the two girls.

A sudden gust of wind blasted the whitefins back in a cloud of dust. The largest whitefin, the one nearest Ezelia, fell in two clean halves.

Ezelia looked to her side, covering nose and mouth as sand whipped past her face. She saw two wings glowing black through the dust. As everything became clearer, she saw Raven, sword drawn and cloaked in black energy. Raven charged the Whitefin closest to her. With inhuman speed, she cleaved twice through the head of the first whitefin, and blocked an attack from the second with her wing without so much as a glance. Her blade turned quicker than Ezelia's eyes could process, and the second whitefin fell the the ground, dead from a single slash.

"Whoa..." Ezelia marveled. She turned away from Raven, using Grimm Cat to hold off an attack from one more whitefin. She pulled her weapon back, then slashed its arm off. Ezelia raised Grimm Cat above her head, preparing to bring it down on the beast.

Raven flew in, cracking the creature's bony head with her shield. She slashed, leaving a brutal gash in the monster's side. Ezelia looked around. Raven, in her awakened state, had finished off all the whitefins within seconds. Her wings folded, surrounding her body.

"Nice job!" Ezelia congratulated with a grin.

Raven stared at her. She walked slowly toward Ezelia with her sword still coated in its mystical black energy.

"Hey, I'm not a grimm!" Ezelia nervously joked, backing up. "...Raven?"

Raven paused, sheathing her sword with a shaking arm that seemed hellbent on defying its owner. She raised her hand to her head, grimacing in apparent agony.

Her wings faded, and she collapsed into the dirt.

Ezelia rushed over, kneeling down and picking up Raven gently amid the combat. She stood up, and ran toward Azure and Dustyn. "Ember! Rusty!" Ezelia shouted. "Cover me!"

"Is she hurt!?" Rusty worriedly yelled back in response after sending the head of Child's Play around the neck of a small whitefin. He wrenched backward, tearing through flesh.

"I don't think so?" Ezelia returned. "Her semblance happened again!"

"Got it! Cover!" Rusty affirmed. He and Ember were cooperating surprisingly well in the thick of combat. Rusty wrapped Child's Play around the tail of a Deathstalker, then pulled it toward him, allowing Ember to slash through with a pair of daggers. The monster screeched in pain and turned quickly, attempting to cleave Rusty in half with one of its man-sized claws. Rusty parried with the near-indestructible string of Child's Play, then tied the claw shut, allowing Ember to assault the creature with a whirlwind of steel.

Once the Deathstalker fell, a creature neither Rusty nor Ember had ever seen before burst from the dirt. It was a wormlike monster, the length of a school bus and width of a manhole cover. Six crimson eyes surrounded its gaping maw, which housed countless cone-like teeth that spiraled into its gut. To add to its ferocious appearance, the Earthworm had two scythe-like claws, just a few feet behind its head.

Rusty looked as if he was going to be sick. "What the hell!?" He yelled, his voice cracking. "There are scorpion grimm, spider grimm, whatever the _hell_ we fought back in Vale, and now _THIS!?"_

Ember dodged the worm's lunge, and slashed down its back as it returned into the Earth behind her. "Oh, calm down," she irritatedly replied. "We've faced much worse than some bigass worm before." She spun as the Earthworm burst from the dirt again, flipping a pair of daggers into two of the monster's eyes. As the creature's grotesquely long body writhed in pain, Rusty flung Child's Play around it, held just long enough for Ember to tear at its flesh several times, then retracted his weapon, causing the Earthworm immense pain. Coming from seemingly nowhere, Kita lunged in, finishing the beast by cutting once through its weakened section.

Just after sheathing Kenakuma, Kita cocked her head and stood still, as if she heard something. Rusty and Ember could practically see the quizzical look on her face through her eerie mask.

"A great presence approaches," Kita cryptically warned. "Please, do be careful."

Ember and Rusty simply looked at each other uncertainly as Kita sprinted toward Greyson, flawlessly cleaving the last two earthworms and a final deathstalker in half without losing her speed. She stopped next to Greyson, who was frozen in place, index and middle fingers pressed between his closed eyes.

"Greyson. A powerful being approaches," Kita warned.

Greyson simply nodded. He opened his eyes, and looked to the horizon. Through the dust, he could see another black and white mass approaching rapidly. "Azure, Dustyn! Stay put. The rest of you, come here!" Greyson ordered. Rusty, Ember, Ezelia, and Kita all rushed behind him as the ground began to tremble once more.

"Something's coming. Whatever it is, it's strong," Greyson declared. He looked over the group, and was suddenly stricken with fear. "Wait, where's Raven!?"

"We got surrounded by whitefins, and... well..." Ezelia trailed off.

"What? What happened!?" Greyson nearly yelled.

"Her semblance activated. She killed them all, and she's over by Azure and Dustyn."

Greyson stared at Ezelia blankly. He took a deep breath, and looked to the rest of his allies. "...Anyway. If my hunch is correct, we'll be fighting one of those mud barons. I don't see it, so-"

A deafening roar nearly burst Greyson's eardrums and knocked him to the ground. Bursting out of a dust cloud not fifty feet away was a monstrous creature of grimm. The thick, white, armored spikes on its massive head formed an imposing crown. Its jaws, able to crush a boulder, were lined with dozens of sharp teeth, nearly a foot long each. The body was the size and shape of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, its spine armored down to the tip of its thorny tail. Armor covered so much of the monster's body that it appeared white.

The Mud Baron lowered its head to the ground, and charged.


	9. Mud Baron

"Everyone, SCATTER!" Greyson shouted. He, and everyone behind him, dodged in different directions as the Mud Baron smashed its head into the ground and lifted skyward, shovelling a huge chunk of dry dirt into the sky.

The Mud Baron turned, smashing its tail into the dirt where Greyson stood. Once again, he rolled to the side to dodge the attack, which left a small fissure in the sands. Kita jumped in from behind Greyson, slashing at the Baron's armored tail. Her blade glanced off, and she was flung backward by a second tail attack.

"Greyson! I cannot sense a weak spot!" Kita reported, softly rubbing her ribs.

The Mud Baron smashed its head into the dirt near Ember. She jumped into the air and threw four daggers at the nape of the monster's neck. Ember grit her teeth in annoyance as she watched each blade bounce off harmlessly. She planted her feet on the neck of the beast, and sprung off as she caught two of her daggers.

"The damn thing's armored from head to tail!" Ember angrily noted. She ducked under the monster quickly, retrieving her last two daggers from its other side and regrouping with Greyson and Kita. Azure and Dustyn were having no better luck. Azure's usually piercing arrows were stopped by the Mud Baron's bone-white armor. Dustyn's explosive shots did not leave a mark.

"Have no fear!" Ezelia yelled. "I've got this!" She pointed Grimm Cat, in cannon form, to the monster's head. Greyson kept it occupied with an onslaught of shotgun blasts and sword slashes to the arms and legs. The Mud Baron focused intently on him as he ducked in and out of certain death, dodging earth-shattering headbutts and the snap of jaws that could crush a car.

Ezelia's fully charged dust beam smashed into the side of the Mud Baron's head. Finally, the beast seemed affected. Its head recoiled as it roared an enraged, thunderous roar. The Mud Baron turned to Ezelia, who was forced to sit motionless as she reloaded her dust cartridge with quivering hands.

"Oh boy, I... thought that would do just a _little_ more to it..." Ezelia anxiously reflected as she looked up into the Baron's beady red eyes.

The Mud Baron paused for a bit, then turned to attack Kita, who was repositioning to get a hit on the newly created wound. As the Mud Baron smashed its head into the dirt, Kita dodged,slashed the weak spot once, then dashed backward to Greyson.

Greyson had stopped his assault, backed off, and stood still, watching the fight unfolding. He saw the Mud Baron stop looking at Ezelia, then turn to attack Kita, a moving target. Greyson then looked to the dozens of stone spires jutting out of the sands. Kita ran to his side, attracting the Mud Baron's attention to the two of them.

"Kita. I have an idea," Greyson declared. "The Mud Baron didn't attack Ezelia when she was sitting still. I think its vision is based on movement."

"I understand," Kita affirmed. "What would you like me to do?"

"Keep it distracted while I run back to tell Azure and Dustyn. And please, be careful," Greyson answered. "We need to break its armor, but the only thing here other than Ezelia's dust cannon that might be stronger is those stones."

Kita nodded, and ran in front of the Mud Baron's face. She zigzagged, dodging all the tail attacks and head smashes the massive, terrifying beast could muster. Kenakuma remained sheathed.

"Everyone, except Kita!" Greyson yelled. "Stand still!" Although confused, nobody debated. All were still except Kita, who still kept the angry monster distracted, and Greyson who ran to Azure, Dustyn, and Raven.

Greyson nervously glanced up to the Mud Baron as he worked Raven's shield off her arm. "What are you doing?" Azure asked. She pointed to the Mud Baron. "And stay further away from that thing. It almost ate you!"

"I'm... well, I have a plan," Greyson hurriedly replied, not keen on telling Azure he was about to become bait for a colossal creature of grimm, as part of a plan he was not completely sure would work.

"What in the hell is he planning this time?" Ember asked aside to Rusty, who shrugged in confusion. Greyson ran to a stone spire, about eight feet across and thirty feet tall. He began to work his way up the rock, on the far side from the still raging Mud Baron.

Breathing a deep breath, Greyson fired a shot from Nimbus into the air. The Mud Baron instantly turned toward the noise. Greyson waved Raven's shield around in circles, the disc reflecting the Sun's rays. Angered, and with a moving target in sight, the Mud Baron began to charge. Greyson swallowed hard as the huge grimm stamped forward.

Greyson dismounted the hoodoo just before the Baron smashed into it with the force of a speeding semi truck. Splintering stone crashed into Greyson as he fell to the ground in a daze. He looked up, seeing the Mud Baron visibly shaken by the impact. One horn of its crown had lodged in the stone, and separated from the monster's head.

Kita sprinted past Greyson, Kenakuma unsheathed and glowing dark red. She jumped high into the air, blade raised and prepared to strike. " _Aku no haiju!_ " she yelled in her holy language. As she came down on the beast's armored forehead, she guided her blade into a crack no thicker than a pencil.

Instantly, the Mud Baron's body fell still, everything above its shoulders cleaved straight down the middle. The beast sunk down onto its side slowly as it dissolved into Kenakuma. The strange sword pulsed red once before bony, white, spikes grew from within the grip, and jutted forward with the existing red and black spikes.

Rusty looked at her weapon with astonishment that bordered on horror. "Did... did your weapon just grow!?" he asked.

Kita took her mask off, and looked to Rusty. He backed off a bit as she held up her blade. "Yes," she confirmed. "Kenakuma is a blade forged from the heart of a demon. It grows alongside me. When I first obtained this blade as a child, it was merely a dagger."

"The heart of a... you know what? I won't ask anymore. That's kinda cool. Kinda scary. And I'm glad you're on our side."

"I am too," Greyson added from Kita's side. She swiftly turned to face him. "I'm glad we picked you up back in Mistral. You're amazing."

Kita's eyes widened a bit in surprise, and a rosy pink flushed across her cheeks. "Ah, thank you," she awkwardly managed. "I could not be nearly as strong if not for your wonderful leadership."

"Your face is red," Ember cut in.

"I... Yes. It is quite hot out here," Kita noted. She promptly turned away, walking in the direction of Azure, Dustyn, and Raven. Rusty followed. He brushed a lock of hair from Raven's face, then picked her up from the sandy ground.

The man who sat in the corner of the pub watched from the entrance to Goldriver Gulch. As Twilight Crusade approached, he tilted the brim of his hat upward slightly. "You kids... you got a name?" he asked.

Raven woke up. "Wh-Wha? Don't kill her!" she suddenly spoke. She practically rolled out of Rusty's arms, before he wrestled her to her feet awkwardly.

"...The hell kind of a name is that?" the cowboy questioned.

"No, that's not it," Greyson assured. "We're Twilight Crusade. We're a group of huntsmen and huntresses aiming to better the world, and help people in need, no matter who they are."

"Easy, there. You ain't winnin' over any fans with that starry-eyed nonsense," the man warned. He puffed his cigar once. "But, you kids sure as hell ain't as green as I thought. Thanks for savin' this here town. We owe ya one."

"Of course. And this right here, right now? It's only the beginning of our journey," Greyson replied, with a confident, forceful cadence. He turned to his friends. "Well. It's been a long day. Let's go back to camp."

 **Character notes: Kita Kurayami.**

"Kita" was originally derived from "kitsune," the Japanese word for fox. Incidentally, Kita means "North" in Japanese. "Kurayami" is a mashup of the words "Kuro" (black), and "Yami" (darkness.) Additionally, (in Google translate because that's what I use because I don't know Japanese oops) "North of darkness" translates to "Kurayami no kita." So, Kita's name figuratively means she's above the darkness. For example, the grimm.

Kita is 5'7. (~170cm)

She really likes ice cream, and is sad that it's not very healthy.

Her character is very much based on Lan Fan from the Fullmetal Alchemist series, and her fighting style is based on Akame from Akame ga Kill.

Since the Shrouded Fox uses a different system of numbering days/weeks/years, Ember and Raven did a little math to figure out how old Kita was in early volume 4. She was a little over 17, and they figured her birthday to be in late January.


	10. Short: Tenebris

A pair of muscular black stallions pulled an elegant blue and gold carriage through a dark forest. The only lights in the night were a pair of dust lanterns hanging on front of the carriage, and the moon above. Every now and then, a creature would call from the woods. The passenger in the carriage, a tall man with a chiseled countenance, whose blue hair had faded to grey with age, held an ornate hunting rifle across his chest in nervous anticipation. He had been a revered huntsman in his youth, but in past decades had devoted himself to the art of business. His combat skills had not been tested in years.

The carriage broke out into a small clearing. At the far end, a twisting, black, wrought-iron gate rose twenty feet into the air. Beyond it, a path through a spacious yard. Beautifully sculpted hedges hugged both sides of the path forward, half-concealing marble statues of huntsmen and grimm.

The massive gate opened slowly with a groan before the carriage proceeded forward. Far down the paved path, a building sat behind a sculpture of two young men. One lay helpless and prone, the second held his foot on the throat of the first, and raised a sword over his head. The carriage pulled past, and the man in the carriage read the stone inscription to himself.

" _Tenebris defectus lucem"_

The carriage pulled forward until arriving at the door to the building. It was a massive, regal structure, appearing as some mixture of cathedral and mansion. Massive stone spires impaled the night sky at each corner. A stained glass painting of a flaming gemstone sat above the black door. The carriage passenger set his rifle to the side, exited the carriage, then walked up the marble staircase to the entry. He grasped the gold knocker, then brought it to the door three times, each knock resonating with a thunderous strength.

Within seconds, the door was opened by a skinny, yet curvy woman. Behind her, grand marble staircases curved around to the left and right, making their way up to a mezzanine that overlooked the main hall. Directly in front of the guest, and behind the woman, grey stone arches rested on pillars of a similar hue, supporting the high ceiling. Dozens of rows of pews crafted from expensive wood took the floor, before it emptied out into a grey circle. Behind that sat a stage, and a massive stained-glass window.

The woman seemed to defy age. She was the mother of a man in his twenties, and had recently passed fifty years. Yet, her ghostly white skin showed no signs of wrinkling. Her skin contrasted with long, straight, pitch black hair. Her icy blue eyes held a mixture of cold and seduction. A grin spread across her crimson red lips, raising her defined cheekbones even higher.

"Ahh, Coballis! It has been too long, dear," the woman welcomed. "Come in, come in. Lucius is in his study."

"Thank you, Midna. You're looking as youthful as ever," the guest politely welcomed. He straightened his tie with long, thin fingers as he made his way up the staircase to the left. Midna accompanied him up.

"You flatter too much," Midna replied. "Though it is good to know my routine is working as usual."

The man known as Coballis walked up to a door on the mezzanine's left side. Before his knuckles met the wood to knock, it opened, revealing an older-looking man. His white hair was tied back into a neat ponytail, and he wore an entirely black suit. His grey eyes and wrinkled forehead held a stern countenance, which brightened upon seeing his guest.

"Coballis! Good to see you again," the older man welcomed with a raspy, unnerving voice. "What was the urgent business which brought you so far from home?"

"I'm afraid the news I bring is not good, Lucius," Coballis answered grimly. "It is about my daughter, Azure. When Beacon fell, she was slain by grimm. But, there is one other Schnee girl. My niece is in Atlas, I am sure I would be able to arrange something with Jacque..."

Lucius lowered his head, giving the slightest of nods. To the surprise of Coballis, his head raised with a grin.

"What if I told you, Mr. Ozeen, that your daughter was not dead?" he hinted.

Coballis was taken aback. "But, sir. That's impossible, she..." he paused to consider. "Her body was never found. Our only way of knowing she had died was from that one boy she seems to like so much..." he bitterly reflected.

"Yes, I can assure you she is very much alive. She has been kidnapped by the boy she thinks she loves," Lucius continued. "Vladimir and I shall see to it that she is returned by the end of the year."

"Thank you so very much, sir," Coballis fervently replied. He sighed. "How did I believe the insolent troglodyte? I am relieved our business deal is still a possibility."

Lucius chuckled. "As am I, Coballis. The thought of the power a Garnett-Schnee merger would bring the both of us is intoxicating. It's a wonder your daughter cannot see that fact. Her marriage to Vladimir would bring about a new player in the political world."

"Yes, a wonder indeed. I do wish she would just submit like she always used to. Allowing her to attend Beacon was a mistake. She learned a rebellious streak..."


	11. The Call

**Author's note: This arc is gonna be pretty fitting for this time of year!**

The slums of Mistral were as active as usual during the latest hours of the evening. The conversations, about any range of topics, all coalesced into one low, rumbling murmur that echoed above the dingy buildings and into the darkening sky. A thick haze was just beginning to set in, granting the rows of makeshift huts and trade posts an eerie, ghostly aura. A dark, cloaked, figure slowly cut through the crowd, followed by two more uncloaked. People scattered and spoke in hushed whispers, glancing nervously at the three as they passed.

"Is that... him? The one in the news?" a man asked nervously.

"Shh! And don't look at him!" a woman reprimanded.

The first figure paid the crowd no mind. He continued until the front door to a shabby bar. It was a small, run-down, building of aged wood painted deep green. The grubby windows leaked orange light onto the street, and as the door opened, the unpleasant scents of alcohol and stale tobacco wafted outside.

"No! You agree to MY price, and if you can't match it, get out of my face, runt!" A man angrily yelled from the back corner of the bar. The sound of his fist slamming onto the table jolted several of the customers who had been at the bar far longer than they should have, awake.

A young man with black hair, barely old enough to enter the bar, ran to the door. He halted before the figures before looking up and freezing with widened eyes. There, standing in front of him, was the White Fang's notorious "Phantom." The man shifted out of the way, uttering some inaudible apology. The Phantom, along with two of his grunts, stepped into the bar.

"Don't bother asking for ID," the Phantom flatly ordered. The bouncer, a man built like a boulder, who stood an entire head taller than the Phantom, simply nodded.

All heads in the bar turned as the Phantom continued walking straight to the back. The room, previously full with a raucous chatter, fell silent apart from the brewing machines and the sound of the Phantom's boots knocking on the hardwood floor in a slow, even rhythm. He stopped in front of a man alone at a table for two. The man wore a blue shirt, brown pants, and a black ammo belt crossing his body from shoulder to waist. All he wore seemed to be covered in a layer of grime, just as his left eye was covered by a simple black eyepatch. His black hair was spiked in front, ending in a greasy ponytail in back.

The Phantom dropped a small purple bag on the table. "Five hundred lien. Tell me what you can about the shipment of Schnee Dust coming in tomorrow night," he commanded.

The man behind the table gave a grin full of crooked, yellow teeth. "Five hundred? You're a bigshot in the White Fang. You can do better than that, especially for somethin' like a Schnee shipment! No deal."

"Well, allow me to make a negotiation," the Phantom dryly offered. He pulled a dark green pistol from his waistband, and pressed the muzzle between the man's eyes.

Two more men sat up from tables nearby, pointing pistols at the Phantom. The Phantom's two grunts matched the men's weapons with their own.

"If you take the job, you'll get five hundred lien, your life, and the life of your little buddies at the tables over there. Not so bad if you ask me."

"...So anyway, after the guy _lays_ on the horn, he gets out of his car and starts yelling at me. And of course I just have to sit there and apologize to him, like what else are you gonna do to an old dude who almost just ran you over?" Rusty recalled. He bitterly took a sip of orange juice. "And all for a frisbee..."

"Sorry, th-the wind caught it..." Raven replied. She and the rest of Twilight Crusade sat at the campsite table, enjoying the early afternoon sunshine and a casual lunch. Greyson held his scroll in one hand, and his fork in the other as he browsed through the daily news.

"The Phantom Squad is really becoming a problem," he said.

"Huh, what happened this time?" Azure asked sadly.

"Maybe if this ad would go away, I'd know for sure..." Greyson muttered. "Garnett jewelers, why's something like this popping up?"

"Garnett? Ew. Close it," Azure curtly directed. Greyson tapped the white "x" in the corner one more time.

"Wait, is that... you know," Rusty cautiously inquired.

"Yeah. The company Vladimir's family owns," Azure affirmed. "Greyson, if we do get married, don't buy a Garnett ring. Go for like, Jay Jewelers or something."

"It would be kinda hilarious if he did buy a Garnett ring to ask you to marry him though, it would be a _huge_ middle finger to Vladimir," Dustyn joked.

"...Anyway, in the early morning hours of August 4th, a whole shipment of Schnee Dust was stolen from a train. A few crew members claim to have seen the Phantom. No deaths reported, which is good," Greyson stated, looking to the screen in front of him.

"Really?" Azure asked. "This has happened before. Entire trains have been stolen by the White Fang..."

"Whoever this Phantom is, they seem to know what they're doing," Ember commented. She took a sip of water. "Targeting the dam to flood a city historically discriminatory to faunus, bombing a church to demoralize citizens, and now stealing dust. The White Fang has plans, sure. But I think the Phantom has his own agenda entirely."

"We have to stop the Phantom before his plan becomes reality," Greyson declared. "It won't be easy, but I think the Phantom and his squad should be our first priority for elimination."

"I-I know they've done terrible things, but... I'm not sure they're terrible people," Raven suggested shyly. "When we were fighting at the dam, one of their members spoke to me. Sh-She has reasons for joining the White Fang. Her entire family was killed by humans, and she fights for revenge."

Greyson nodded. "I'm sure no one among them is just some soulless monster. I'd like to take them down with as little bloodshed possible, but I'm just not sure that's likely. They're our enemies, and they will _not_ hesitate to take our lives."

Greyson started with surprise as his scroll begin to vibrate in his hands. He looked down to see a number unknown to him flashed across the screen. He showed the scroll to Azure, who did not recognize the number either. Shrugging, he decided to answer.

"Hello?" Greyson answered, with a slight hint of confusion.

"Hello, is this the number for Greyson Skye?" A woman asked on the other end. Her voice was mature, but not yet burdened by the weight aging. Greyson guessed her to be in her late thirties or forties.

"Yes, you have the right number," Greyson replied politely. He was unsure of what else to say, and what words he would hear next from the scroll. Silently, he put the scroll on speakerphone.

"And are you the leader of the group known as Twilight Crusade?" the woman continued, carefully enunciating the group name as if she read it off a paper for the first time.

"Yes, that's me," Greyson confirmed.

"Oh, great! I'm Sandy Kantar, secretary for Vacuo's branch of the Agaupt Precious Metals Company. We've heard of your successes in stopping the White Fang in the Great Canyon Dam, and once again when protecting Goldriver Gulch. I believe we have a job for you."

Greyson froze upon hearing the name "Agaupt," one he had not heard in several months. The battle with Dunder, Sylvia, and Kurai seemed years behind him. To Sylvia, who had been gravely injured, the memory must be fresh in her mind, and the wound fresh in her stomach. Several of the others seemed just as unsure; especially Rusty, Azure, Ember, and Raven. The four who knew the extent of of the conflict with Team DARK.

"Agaupt? Wasn't that Sylvia's last name?" Azure asked aside in a hushed whisper. Raven nodded.

"You can't actually be thinking about helping them, right?" Ember quietly questioned.

"Okay," Greyson simply said, trying to keep his voice from wavering with nerve. "What can we do for you?"

"Well, some workers have reported strange happenings in, and around, the main quarry," Mrs. Kantar reported. "The incidences have become so regular that they are putting a damper on productivity. Much of our workforce refuses to go down in the mines. We would like you to come in and investigate, and find the cause of the problem if possible."

Greyson nodded. "And... what _kind_ of strange occurrences are we talking about?" he asked carefully.

"Well, we get reports of a woman's laughter coming from deep within the mine," Mrs. Kantar began. "Shadow figures are being reported at night, objects tend to move around, and lights have been flickering on and off. While this may be unrelated, three mine entrances have been closed due to rockslides in the past week. Luckily no workers were trapped."

Rusty looked pale, and downright terrified. Azure was uncertain. Greyson looked to the plate in front of him, and waved a fly away casually. "So, this is a... paranormal investigation?" Greyson concluded.

"Not officially, as I and several of the other administrators are skeptical of such things," Mrs. Kantar responded. "However, there are many rumors around the quarry. Would you be able to help?"

Greyson looked to everyone around the table. Ranging from the utter fear on Rusty's face, to the indifference on Ember's, to eager excitement tracing across Ezelia's face in the form of a grin, the team displayed quite the array of emotion.

Greyson smirked slightly. Azure's heart sank as she knew exactly what the look meant.

"We'll do it."


	12. Fear

Twilight Crusade's airship stalled above the dry, cracked Earth, lowering slowly. Plumes of dust scattered in every direction underneath, leaving a clear circle of stone for the airship to land.

"Whoa, you're getting better at landing!" Rusty remarked teasingly. "I almost didn't break my neck this time!"

"Hey, I was only halfway through the airship flight guide when I started flying this thing," Greyson defended with a chuckle. Azure's eyes widened in shock, and she turned her head slowly toward him. "Oh. Right. Azure didn't know that."

Greyson stepped out of the drivers' side door and into the sunlight. Though he had been in Vacuo for most of June, all of July, and into the earliest days of August, he still had never become used to the intense heat, which daily broke one hundred degrees. He pulled his scroll out of his pocket to check the time. Twelve fifty-eight in the afternoon, just a tad early to the scheduled meeting. He walked around the front of the airship, and helped Azure down from the passenger's side. Turning around, Greyson caught his first glimpse of the Agaupt Precious Metals Company's Vacuo headquarters. The building stood in stark contrast to the rest of its surroundings. On the edge of a sheer, craggy, brown cliff, a sleek, silver obelisk rose high into the blue sky. Surrounding the base was a rectangular building, with large windows evenly spaced and tinted the slightest shade of light blue. Two tall, glass, rounded doors slid apart as Greyson continued to marvel at the sight.

Out walked a woman in full silver business attire. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a bun, and her grey eyes were eternally intent and focused. She walked forward briskly to meet the group of huntsmen.

"Greetings. My name is Sandy Kantar," the woman welcomed formally. "On behalf of the Agaupt Precious Metals Company, I would like to thank you for coming to help. Please, follow me inside."

Greyson nodded, and, along with the rest of Twilight Crusade, followed the secretary into the building. A sublime gust of chilled air met Greyson the moment he stepped through the door. Wide windows covered the far wall of the main room, displaying a gorgeous view of the desert. Sand stretched out in every direction for miles, punctuated at first by the Agaupt company's mines and quarries, then plateaus, valleys and tiny oases. Everything inside held an air of neatness and prosperity. The floor was made of patterned marble, grey swirling within white. Between two pillars sat several geometrically shaped chairs and tables. The black top of the front desk, sitting just in front of the group, shone with cleanliness.

The secretary led Twilight Crusade a bit down a hallway to the left, down a second hallway that required her keycard to access, and to an elevator. Greyson looked first to the beautiful floor, then to the pictures of past presidents that hung upon the wall. After a short elevator ride, he and the others stood in front of an imposing, ornate, walnut wood door. A single gold plate on the front displayed one word: "President."

"The company president is here?" Rusty quiety asked aside to Greyson.

"If so, I have a little explaining to do," Greyson replied, thinking back to his fight with Dunder, Sylvia, and Kurai. "I'm fairly certain Sylvia is his daughter."

Secretary Kantar grasped the knocker and knocked three times.

"Come in," an older man's voice welcomed politely from inside. The secretary opened the door, ushering Twilight Crusade into the large, lavish space.

The room was furnished differently from the rest of the headquarters. From the hardwood floors, to the desk, to the bookshelves that lined three walls, everything seemed to be crafted out of the same wood as the door. Directly in front of Greyson, seated at his desk, sat the company's president. Beyond was a wall made completely of window, providing the same view as the windows below.

"What!? _They're_ Twilight Crusade?" a teenaged girl's voice groaned. "There are rumors it's an old team from Beacon, but _them?_ " Greyson grimaced, instantly knowing the voice's owner. Sylvia sat in the room's back corner, book opened in her lap.

"Sylvia, I would like this to be a private meeting, if you'd please," President Agaupt politely hinted. Begrudgingly, Sylvia shut her book, and stood up. She winced, hunching over and grabbing her stomach momentarily before walking past Twilight Crusade and to the door.

She glared at Greyson spitefully as she passed by. Despite her hostility, Greyson noticed something that sent a pang of guilt through his mind. She was weak, with sunken cheeks, and a constant hollow, pained look on her face. She was thinner than at Beacon, and looked as if she had missed several nights of sleep. She hobbled feebly out the door with a limp. Shaking off the feeling, Greyson took a seat next to Azure.

The President was a portly, elderly man. Small, rectangular glasses were nested on the bridge of his wide nose. Snow white hair formed a thick rim around the back of his bald head. He sat back in his chair, arms crossed in his lap.

"So, I'm sure my secretary has briefed you on our situation," President Agaupt began. Greyson nodded once in reply. "We would like you to investigate for as long as you can, or until you find the cause of the occurrences. Up front, we can offer 1,500 lien. Should you complete the job, you will earn 2,000 more."

Greyson was shocked. "Sir, are you sure? We really don't need that much pay..." he argued.

President Agaupt smiled and waved his hand in generous dismissal. "No, no. You don't need to worry about our funds," he assured. He leaned in, gaze suddenly hardening. "Judging by some of the reports I've received, this won't be an easy mission. We've already contacted paranormal groups. They've all left after night one."

Greyson felt a sudden surge of apprehension, which faded into a cautious enthusiasm. "I'm not easily scared, President Agaupt," Greyson confidently said. "I'm ready."

After spending the remaining afternoon and evening hours resting for the long night ahead, Greyson led Twilight Crusade to the agreed meeting place. At the cliff's edge, a steel cage mounted on a rickety metal shaft served as an elevator between headquarters and the desert below. Greyson and the others followed Secretary Kantar onto the elevator, then down, slowly into the choking blackness below. Only a few lights, scattered seemingly at random, revealed where Twilight Crusade would be staying for the night, and where they would be investigating. An old, run-down cabin sat on the edge of a deep, long quarry. The cabin's windows looked sunken and dark, creating a dreary, sad atmosphere, contrasting completely with the clean, futuristic headquarters above.

"The cabin is where you will stay," the Secretary reported calmly. "If ever you wish to come up early, here's the emergency contact number." She handed Greyson a small piece of rigid paper, with a number neatly written in black ink. "Get whatever evidence you can, and try to get to the bottom of this nuisance."

Half an hour later, Greyson, Azure, Ember, and Kita had everything set up. The others explored the cabin, finding it to be very slightly more welcoming inside. The building consisted of one hallway after the foyer. The two rooms to the right were bedrooms with four cots each. First door on the left was a small kitchen, refrigerator full of food nobody could be sure was still safe, and sink holding the corpse of an unfortunate spider. The second door to the left opened to a small bathroom.

On one of the cots, a huge, expensive video camera sat haphazardly, as if left behind in a hurry and forgotten. Greyson stepped over to it, fiddled with several buttons until gaining a general idea of its most important features, and looked through old footage.

The only video on the camera was of a group of burly-looking men, all tinted in the eerie green light of night vision. Greyson watched for several minutes as the men walked through the quarry, every now and then hearing noises that would send the cameraman in a frenzy. At a particularly calm moment, when the investigators were asking typical "paranormal" questions, Greyson felt a chill run down his spine as a woman's shrill scream broke through the camera's speaker. The cameraman jumped, and as the men ran in terror, Greyson could have sworn he saw a gaunt, pitch-black figure following behind.

Greyson sat on the edge of the cot, with the camera in his lap and a wide-eyed, vacant look painted on his face. " _What did I get myself into?_ " he thought. " _Ghosts aren't real. They don't make sense. But then, what the hell WAS that?_ "

"Greyson! Let's go!" Ezelia called eagerly, suddenly appearing in the doorway. She approached Greyson. "Ooh, that thing looks fancy _,_ " she noted.

"Yeah, and I think I figured out how to record with it, too..." Greyson commented, as he searched for the little red button he happened upon minutes earlier. "Ah. There we go."

Together with Azure, Kita, and Ezelia, Greyson walked due North, travelling alongside the quarry. The desert night was pitch black, as the cliff to the right of the group cast a shadow across the dirt. With no moonlight, Greyson could only rely on the small, green screen of the camera for vision. The group walked for twenty minutes without incident. Though hesitant at first, Greyson began to relax, the warm night air and gentle breeze doing wonders to calm his nerves.

A girl's laughter broke the silence. A light, mischievous giggle that caused Greyson to freeze in place. Kita unsheathed Kenakuma, and Azure held Greyson's arm tighter. He knew the sound was not imagined.

The three remained frozen for several seconds, and Ezelia looked around curiously. Suddenly, Azure shrieked loudly with fright, jumping into Greyson.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Greyson fervently asked.

"Uhh, uh, uh... Something... I don't- I don't know what. Something grabbed my ankle!" Azure said frantically, pushing a coherent sentence out with immense effort. Greyson could feel her shaking against him.

Greyson nodded. "Try to stay calm. Grimm can sense fear. Do you need to go back to base?"

"Well, I don't want to be weak, but... yes," Azure admitted.

Greyson grabbed his scroll and called Ember. She picked up within seconds.

"Ember. How are things on your end?" Greyson asked.

"Pretty quiet," she calmly reported. "Really, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Strange. Can you take Raven and walk due North?" Greyson asked. "Weird things are happening here. Azure wants to go back."

"Alright," Ember affirmed. "We'll be there in a little. And, uh... stay safe."

The call ended.

Greyson, Azure, and Kita sat on boulders in complete darkness and silence. Several minutes later, the sound of footsteps approached the group.

"Ember? Raven?" Greyson called.

He was answered by eerie, female laughter, then silence.

"Well, now I understand why the workers are so damn creeped out," Greyson conceded, trying to lighten the mood.

"Greyson, there is a powerful presence nearby. It is not grimm, and it is not Ember nor Raven," Kita warned. "Still, the presence feels... _human._ "


	13. Fear, Part Two

Ember and Raven journeyed through the suffocating darkness together, cautiously making their way toward Greyson, Azure, Ezelia, and Kita. Though Raven's faunus heritage allowed her to see what lay ahead in the night, Ember saw nothing but pitch black. She kept her left hand rested on Raven's shoulder, and her right raised, holding a dagger defensively.

Suddenly, Raven gasped, stopped, and deployed her shield, raising it in front of herself and Ember. She was completely still.

"What? What do you see?" Ember quietly asked.

"Th-There's a person. I-It's moving toward us..." Raven whispered, barely able to speak through her fright.

"Who's there?" Ember boldly asked, grabbing a second dagger. "Identify yourself if you want to see sunrise!"

"Ember... I-It disappeared," Raven remarked faintly, not quite believing what she had just seen. "Th-There was a person floating toward us, a-and now it's just... gone."

"...Right," was all Ember said. "It was probably just paranoia or something. Let's keep moving."

"W-Wait!" Raven exclaimed. She turned around hastily.

"What now?" Ember impatiently responded. "We can't be afraid of these things. _I'm_ not. We have to keep going if we don't want to be torn apart by grimm."

"I kn-know we do," Raven stated, voice gone blank and quiet with horror. "Th-The people are behind us now."

The action around Greyson, Azure, Ezelia, and Kita had calmed momentarily. Azure held tightly onto Greyson, who sat on a flat-topped boulder. Kita stood nearby protectively with her hand wrapped around Kenakuma's handle as she gazed off into the desert. Her vision in the night was not at the level of a faunus, yet it was still decidedly above most humans.

Easing into the night air on a cool breeze, Greyson could faintly hear flute-like music. At first, he fell silent, unsure of if he had truly heard the noise, or if it was a figment of his own rampant, fearful imagination. Gradually, the high-pitched tones increased in volume until the song reached Greyson's ears without effort. Three notes, decreasing in pitch, followed each other, repeating the pattern twice. A slightly different song followed that, until it changed entirely. The song was unnerving, causing goosebumps to rise from Greyson's skin despite the comfortably warm night air. The eerie tones echoed throughout the quarry as they grew louder. The song repeated from the start.

"Greyson, do you hear that?" Azure softly asked.

"The music?" Greyson answered.

"Yeah, it's getting louder, too..." Azure noted, with a slight hint of worry.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Ezelia replied contently.

"I was thinking terrifying, but to each their own," Greyson returned exasperatedly.

"Greyson! Azure! Ezelia!" Kita called. "Ember and Raven approach from the South!"

Above the now easily audible music, Greyson could hear two sets of footprints rapidly drawing closer. The two stopped a short distance away, gasping for air out of a mixture of exhaustion and terror.

"Good. We'll be heading a little further North, then going down into the quarry for a bit to investigate," Greyson declared. "We should be back within an hour."

"W-We... we should all go back," Raven suggested shakily. "Th-There are shadow people everywhere. Th-They've been following us, a-and I'm really worried, and-"

"Raven. We can't be scared of whatever the hell these things are," Ember reminded sternly. "You're going to get a pack of beowolves on us."

"R-Right... sorry," Raven returned. Suddenly, the music stopped in the middle of a note, leaving the last note to echo throughout the quarry. A second after, Greyson heard Kita unsheathe Kenakuma, and Raven deploy her shield simultaneously.

Azure tightened her grip on Greyson's arm. Not sure of what to do, Greyson held up his camera, looking through the screen. He nearly dropped the camera in terror.

Grotesque, emaciated, pitch-black humanoid forms slowly closed in on Twilight Crusade from all angles. The creatures' long, spindly arms grasped at thin air as they lurched forward unnaturally. Their misshapen heads twitched atop their ragged shoulders with every step. Pieces of the monsters occasionally crumbled off, dropping into the darkness. Greyson swore under his breath, not believing what he saw on his screen.

"We need to go. Now," Greyson commanded. He led the others through the biggest gap between the atrocities he could find, still too close for comfort. He never looked back as he sprinted to the cabin, its dark windows and grimy exterior now as inviting as his childhood home.

Greyson, Azure, Raven, Ember, Ezelia, and Kita all piled in the door, nearly busting it out of its frame. It slammed behind them.

"Woah, woah!" Rusty exclaimed. "I take it things were scarier out there?"

Greyson could only nod wearily as a reply.

"It was a ton of fun though, right!?" Ezelia asked in exhilaration. She turned to everyone who had been outside with her, and was met by blank, disapproving stares.

Greyson found difficulty in sleep for the rest of the night. He restlessly walked throughout the cabin, checking each of the windows, as well as every closet, cabinet, and drawer in the cabin, anywhere he figured could serve as a hiding place for whatever abomination he encountered in the desert. Azure tried her best to stay by his side, but quickly became too tired to be of much help. Kita watched over both of them from the shadows, not sleeping a minute.

After a hearty breakfast supplied by the Agaupt Company, Greyson freshened up and made his way down to the President's office along with the rest of Twilight Crusade. Greyson was welcomed inside, and he stood just inside the door, awaiting his business. President Agaupt sat behind his desk, looking up to his computer screen, and scrawling notes down on an official-looking piece of paper. The secretary walked in behind the group, ushering them to sit.

"Good morning, Mister Skye," President Agaupt greeted after scrawling down one final sentence. "Were you able to find any evidence of activity?"

Greyson nodded. "Yes. Very much, I'd say," he answered. He presented the tiny memory chip from the video camera, and President Agaupt slid it into the side of his computer. Together, they listened to the eerie laughter, heard the whistling music, and once again saw the grotesque, mysterious creatures that approached Twilight Crusade during the night. Greyson felt a chill run down his spine as he saw their hideous figures again.

"Oh my... I understand now. Thank you for bringing this to me," the President thanked. "If you don't wish to investigate further, you are free to go. I will have your payment ready today by noon."

"I... want to stay another night, if you'd let me," Greyson proposed. "I need to find out what these things are."

"Very well. I admire and appreciate your dedication."

As Twilight Crusade walked through the lobby to the back of the building, Greyson's gaze happened upon Sylvia. She sat near the window, lazily flipping through a company brochure, no doubt one she had read countless times before. Not for its content, but for something to do. An empty way to pass the time.

"You guys go on ahead," Greyson quietly said. "I'll catch up in a few minutes."

He walked over to Sylvia, and gingerly sat at the plush chair across from her. A small, brown, circular table and a flowerpot was all that separated Greyson from his attempted killer.

"Hello, Sylvia," Greyson gently greeted. He took care to not saturate his greeting with falsified friendliness, as he decided the tone would be inappropriate. He was simple, and respectful.

"What do you want?" she harshly returned.

"I know we never got along, and this seems odd, but... I'd like to apologize."

Sylvia paused in confusion. "Why would _you_ apologize?" she asked, a slightly gentler tone coming with her words.

"Well, there's no kind way to put this, but, it seems you're not a strong as you used to be, back when you were at Beacon," Greyson calmly explained. "I feel like it's partly my fault. You were fighting with me when your injury happened."

"Okay, but you weren't even the one to do it," Sylvia contested, masking her words with her usual tone of irritation. "My team was trying to kill you. I, uh... let's just say I was reluctant. I was more or less forced into it. But it's not like I wanted to be your friend or anything either, got it?"

Greyson laughed a bit. "I know. But still, I'm sorry. I would definitely have to speak with my team, but, should they decide to trust you, would you like to join Twilight Crusade? We're always open to new members."

Sylvia froze with surprise. Gradually, a look of vague sadness came to her face. "Sorry, but I have to decline. None of your teammates would trust me. Plus, I have to take care of some of the business here. It doesn't seem like it, but my father's health has been declining recently. I need to stick around, just in case something happens."

Greyson nodded politely and stood up. "Alright, I understand," he concluded. "Take care, Sylvia. I hope everything works out."

"Take care," Sylvia responded. "And... thanks for the offer."


	14. The Second Night

For much of the day, Greyson fought the noise of the nearby mine to catch up on the rest he missed the night before. While he slept, Azure, Rusty, and Raven easily fought off a small band of grimm that had come to attack the building. Dustyn, Ezelia, and Ember ventured around the quarry, investigating the ground Greyson's group had covered the night before. They found nothing out of the ordinary, apart from several piles of mysteriously torn-up dirt. Eventually, the Sun set over the distant horizon, and night came.

Instead of venturing out again, Greyson told everyone to stay in the cabin and rest, and to only go outside for their hour-long shifts on night watch. Dustyn and Ezelia's shifts ended without incident. At midnight, Rusty waved to everyone in reluctance, and nervously walked out the door. Not long after, Greyson walked to bed, hoping to fit some more sleep in before his own shift.

Half an hour later, as Greyson's muscles relaxed and he lay on the border between wakefulness and sleep, a horrified yell from outside roused him to full vigilance. Anxiety clutched his heart, as he immediately knew the scream was Rusty's. Greyson ripped his blankets off himself and ran down the hall to the front door. Raven and Kita had not yet gone to bed, and were the first to let Rusty in.

"Wh-What's wrong? What happened?" Raven worriedly asked, putting her hands on Rusty's shoulders to comfort him. She felt him shaking violently against her hands with fear.

"I was hearing these... creepy noises!" Rusty answered, voice shaking as much as his body. "Then I heard... music? And then... there were these things. There was one right next to the house! It looked... _almost_ human!?"

"That's exactly what we saw last night then," Greyson commented. Raven and Rusty looked at him, unaware he had come into the room.

Raven nodded. "I-I'll go out there though. I-I'll be able to see them better," she reasoned.

"Raven, no. It's... terrifying out there," Rusty argued. "And I don't want something to hurt you."

"I-I'm not as afraid of ghosts and stuff, a-as I am people," Raven explained. "I-It's kind of weird, really. Last night was, well, a little scary... But I th-think I can handle it."

"Fine, but I'm going to stay awake in here," Rusty assured. "If you want in, just knock, okay?"

Raven happily confirmed, and made her way outside fully armed.

Twenty minutes later, Raven pounded the door so hard it nearly shook out of its frame. Rusty vaulted off his cot and sprinted to the door, taking Raven into his arms as it flung open.

"I-It's w-worse... worse than I thought out there..." Raven weakly said. She looked to Greyson, her dark eyes full of dread. "It's worse than last night..."

"We're inside, we're safe now," Rusty comforted. "I can make us some soup or something. We're all going to be okay, these things can't hurt us."

Without a word, and carrying a look of cold determination on his face, Greyson walked into his room, grabbed Blitz and Nimbus, then changed clothes. He calmly stormed out the door, Kita following behind. He walked several steps off the cabin's front porch, looked to the clear, starry sky above, then back down to the black desert in front of him.

"Kita. Do you see anything?" Greyson asked intensely.

"Nothing yet," Kita reported, scanning the desert. The only sound apart from their voices was the buzzing of the porch light overhead. Several moths flew around it, bumping into it foolishly and casting bizarre, flickering shadows across the nearby sand.

" _Good. Maybe it was just the moths_ ," Greyson thought, trying to assure himself. " _Just a trick of the mind, and a trick of the light. Makes sense..."_

"Halt. I do see forms arising in the sand," Kita declared. "Just beyond the light you can see!"

Greyson pulled Blitz and Nimbus from their sheaths. "Who are you? What are you, and what do you want?" he furiously shouted. "You scare my friends, but are too much of a coward to show yourself? _Come on!_ If you want us gone, _TELL ME!_ "

Greyson felt something rub roughly against his elbow. In a panic, he slashed at it. A clanging noise echoed through the darkness as Nimbus smacked into a stone spire, no taller than Greyson's waist. "Damn it," he muttered, running his fingers carefully along the edge of his weapon's blade to check the damage done. He heard the playful laughter of a young woman, one Greyson was sure was not Kita.

"Strange. I do not remember that stone there..." Kita pondered. The slightest gasp of surprise escaped her. "Greyson, they are gone! The figures disappeared!"

Greyson grit his teeth, half relieved the monsters were gone and half angry they escaped without a hint at what they were. Under Kita's instruction, Greyson walked to where the monsters had appeared. He knelt down to touch the dirt, shining his scroll on the ground to provide minimal light. While the dirt was tough and dense, several patches were torn into a fine sand, as if something had dug itself up from below.

"The ground here is shredded..." Greyson commented.

"What does this mean?" Kita asked.

"I'm not sure," Greyson admitted. "They could be subterranean. If that's the case, we need to watch out. We won't even be safe in the cabin." He put away Blitz and Nimbus, and began to walk back toward the porch.

"Understood," Kita acknowledged. "But, I am curious. I do not know how these monsters relate to the laughter, or to the music. These things do not make sense to me..."

"It _doesn't_ make sense. _None_ of it does," Greyson bitterly agreed. "These things are scaring my friends to death and there's nothing I can do about it..." As Greyson walked up the steps to the porch, he felt a chill run down his spine. He knew he was being watched.

The light above, still playing host to half a dozen moths, flickered and went dark. More female laughter. Closer this time. Shaking off the fear, Greyson stepped inside.

"No more watch for the night," Greyson rigidly announced to the few who still had not gone to bed. "Kita, could you fetch me a piece of paper and a pen, please?"

Kita nodded, and walked off into the nearest room in search of Greyson's order.

"Was everything okay out there? I heard yelling," Rusty inquired, poking his head out from the door to his room. Raven appeared behind him.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Greyson claimed. He decided not to tell the two, who had been so frightened, that the humanoid monstrosities may be living beneath them.

Kita returned with a blue pen and a piece of paper. Greyson held the paper to the nearest wall, and scratched a note into the paper; "No more watch tonight, get rest."

"Goodnight, guys," Greyson said. "I'm going to try and sleep." He then waved lazily, walking out of the room and down the dimly lit hallway. To his surprise, sleep came quickly.

Greyson woke with a start in the early morning. The ground rumbled beneath his cot, and knocked several decorative stones from the windowsill. Greyson rubbed his eyes in confusion as he slowly came to. He realized he was experiencing a small earthquake.

"Why is is that whenever we end up in a cabin on some kind of mission, an earthquake wakes us up? Can't we have _one_ full night's sleep?" Azure questioned irritatedly. The rumbling stopped. "Thank you!" Azure concluded, throwing her arms up in exasperation.

Just then, Greyson's heart sank as he started to hear the same song he had heard the past two nights. The song that accompanied the grotesque creatures, the sense of paranoia, and eerie, disembodied laughter. The song was louder than he had heard before, ringing through his eardrums until he shivered with fear.

 **Character Notes: Greyson Skye**

The very first character I created was practically a self-insert that had all the qualities of each of Team GRAE's members. I decided to split that one character into an entire team, and so Team GRAE was formed. Greyson maintained the "confident leader that's good at things" aspect, as well as the appearance of the original OC.

Greyson's original weapon was similar to Raven's. I decided to change to dual blades because I loved Sword Art Online at the time (it was 2013 and I was in high school, okay?). They turn into shotguns because I wanted Greyson's fighting style to be up close, loud, and slightly reckless.

Greyson has a lot of "thunder and lightning" themes, because when I made him, there was a pretty vicious thunderstorm going on outside. "Blitz" is German for lightning, and "Nimbus" is a type of cloud that brings rain and thunderstorms.

Greyson likes a lot of rock and alternative rock. If he existed in this world, his favorite band would be Pearl Jam, followed by Foo Fighters, Cage the Elephant, Muse, and Queens of the Stone Age.

Greyson is adamant that his name is spelled with an "e." If he sees his name spelled "Grayson," he cringes a little.


	15. The Wanderer

**Note: I'm wondering if I should just combine all the future books of Twilight Crusade into one work? I'd have to change a lot of the info, but I feel like I might lose readers between books otherwise. What do you guys think?**

 **Also, I'd probably have to change to an M rating because of certain parts of Book 2...**

Slowly, Greyson gathered the nerve to pull himself out of bed and peek gingerly from behind the curtain. All he could see outside was a solid wall of stone, only a dozen feet away, and raised to twice the height of the shabby old cabin. "Hey, Azure!" he called, looking over his shoulder with eager intensity. "Look at this!"

"What's going on out there!?" Rusty yelled from the other room.

"When did the rocks get there? I don't remember those!" Ezelia added in excited confusion.

"Greyson! A wall of stone surrounds the cabin on all sides!" Kita reported, bursting in the door. "What shall we do?"

Greyson paused, before moving the curtains further aside to steal one final glance out the window. He turned to face Kita. "Go try and find out what's going on, but be sneaky about it. Take Ember if you need," he ordered. Kita nodded dutifully and left the room.

Greyson and Azure nervously discussed their situation for the next minute, until Kita returned to their room with Ember by her side. Before speaking, she removed her mask. "Greyson! A young woman sits atop the wall. She seems to be playing some kind of instrument!" she reported.

"...What?" Greyson asked in bewilderment.

"I saw it too," Ember added. "Some girl's sitting on top of the wall playing that damn music."

Greyson shook his head in confused disbelief. "And I thought things couldn't get any weirder..." he reflected. "I'll go out there. Azure, I want you to stand behind me. If I give thumbs up behind my back, shoot stun arrows. I want everyone else behind Azure."

Azure nodded. Greyson walked into the main entryway, where the others crammed around the only window that provided a view of the mysterious musician. Greyson repeated his instructions, then moved through the crowd to the door.

A jagged wall of tan stone surrounded the entire cabin, the dirt before it turned up in a pile. The Sun had just risen above the top of the wall, where the silhouette of a woman sat. Her legs were crossed and swinging forward and back nonchalantly. Her arms raised to her face, holding up what appeared to be a flute.

As soon as Greyson opened the door, the woman stopped playing her song. Greyson squinted against the harsh sunlight, trying to make out any details he could. All he could see was the woman lowering the instrument, and setting it on her waist.

"Who are you? And what do you want with us?" Greyson shouted up to her. "Why are you scaring the workers here?"

"Hey, hey! One question at a time, please!" the woman teased. Her voice was juvenile and feminine, yet confident and powerful. She pushed herself up until she stood straight, hands on her hips. She finally blocked enough of the sunlight to show herself clearly. "My name is Alexandra Ité, and I am a nomad, former member of the Inyan tribe!"

Alexandra was a thin young woman, skin just a shade darker than the tan stone she stood on. She wore a dirtied white crop top, raggedly ripped a few inches below her chest to reveal her tan midriff, toned from both chronic scarcity of food and constant exercise. Below, were short, faded green denim shorts and dark brown sandals. A large, thick-looking deep purple cloak wrapped her shoulders and nearly reached her feet. Her shaggy purple hair fell halfway down her neck, and was decorated by a black tiara. The front held a regal-looking purple jewel, two inches in height and one wide, cut in perfect symmetry.

"D-Did she say Inyan?" Raven quietly asked.

"I think so, do you recognize the name?" Rusty asked in reply.

"Y-Yeah, they were a nomadic tribe of merchants and d-dust users," Raven explained. "They were peaceful, a-and only ever appeared in towns to sell things. B-But, about ten years ago I think, they were all mysteriously killed in one night..."

"That's terrible..." Rusty replied. "Let's just hope she's not the one who did it."

"So, you've heard of the horrors that befell my people when I was only nine," Alexandra butted in. "There's no need to fear. I am _not_ the vile wretch responsible."

"Then what do you want with the workers here?" Greyson questioned. "Why have you been scaring them?"

Alexandra sighed, cocking her head sideways in muted annoyance. "I said _one_ question at a time..." she muttered. She perked up, raising one arm and sweeping it from her front to her side. "The scars they have left upon the desert's beauty are immeasurable! I'm trying to force them out of this sacred land by fear!"

"So, you're the one in control of those monsters we saw?" Greyson continued.

Without a word, Alexandra moved her raised hand toward Greyson.

"B-Be careful!" Raven warned. "The Inyan dust wielders were very strong!"

Greyson gave the command behind his back for Azure to shoot, and she simultaneously sent three yellow beams at Alexandra. Azure's target responded by easily blocking each shot with her bare hands, dissolving the focused beams into energy, which channeled into the gem atop her head.

"That wasn't very kind of you, now was it?" Alexandra reprimanded, sounding offended. "I'm not going to hurt anyone here, and an Inyan never breaks her promises!" She raised her hand again. Greyson hopped backward as the ground in front of him burst open. A strange figure made entirely of stone slowly rose from the dirt. From the misshapen head, to the thin, tendril-like arms and emaciated torso, there was no mistaking. The stone figure was one of the many that terrified the group during the night.

"I scared you all at first because you were hired to help," Alexandra explained. Her creature jolted to life with uncanny animation, lurching toward an uneasy Twilight Crusade slowly before dissolving back into sand. Alexandra cracked a smile. "But then, I found it to be pretty fun! Especially the redhead, who never admitted her heart was about to beat right out of her chest! Oh, and you of course, brave mister leader~"

"I was _not_ scared," Ember muttered. "I saw worse every night on the streets of Vale..."

"You said you wanted the workers gone, and said you didn't want to hurt anyone," Greyson replied, in a calmer tone than before. "Please, come down from there and we can work something out."

Alexandra nodded, then swept her arm in front of her. Stone from her wall shifted like a viscous liquid below her feet, forming a descending staircase as she stepped down. When both of Alexandra's feet settled on solid ground a few feet in front of Greyson, the great mass of stone she had created sunk back into the dirt.

Greyson started with surprise as he looked into Alexandra's eyes. What he had not noticed before, but now was painfully obvious, was Alexandra's heterochromia. Her right eye was a shade of purple matching her hair, and her left was a bright mint green.

"Quite frankly, getting the head of a massive, profit-based corporation like the Agaupt Precious Metals Company to back out of a mining operation is going to be a pain in the ass," Ember warned.

"I'm aware this will be difficult, but it must be done," Alexandra pledged. She walked past Kita, who had lowered her head as she took off her mask. Alexandra froze when Kita's head popped back up, managing an awkward smile as the two made eye contact.

Kita paused in modest astonishment when their eyes met. Her eyes opened a hair wider than usual with curious interest. "Your eyes..." she said. "...They are beautiful. My people, of the Shrouded Fox, they say a warrior with eyes of different colors is destined to wield great power."

"Oh! Well, uh... thank you," Alexandra shyly managed. She let out a nervous laugh. "I like to think I'm pretty good, but I'm not _that_ special."

Kita shook her head, respectfully dismissing Alexandra's reply. "There is no need for modesty. I can sense the strength you possess," she complimented.

"I, uh... I think it's time we go up there then, right?" Alexandra asked, turning to Greyson and pointing up the cliff. A rosy pink flush had risen up under the tan of her cheeks.

"Yeah. Let's head up," Greyson agreed. He and the others grabbed their belongings from the cabin, and took a ride up the rickety metal elevator.

Deliberations about the mining operation and its effect on the desert dragged on for much of the day. Greyson and Alexandra stayed the entire time, carefully discussing, compromising, and reasoning with President Agaupt. The rest of Twilight Crusade seemed rather bored by the whole process, instead resorting to wandering throughout the air-conditioned headquarters and learning, with feigned interest, every last detail about the Agaupt mining procedures, the history of the company, and the history of mining in the surrounding area.

Just before four in the afternoon, an exhausted and hungry Greyson and Alexandra left the President's room. Just outside the door to the executive hallway on the first floor, Azure stood. She had been looking around for Secretary Kantar, but had no luck, and resorted to waiting.

"Ah, how did it go?" Azure asked the two. She walked with Greyson and Alexandra out into the lobby, where the rest of Twilight Crusade waited.

"Well, it went for a long time, that's for damn sure," Greyson griped, rubbing his right eye. "But, it's not so bad. The land they've dug up is still okay to mine, but they can't expand the quarry."

"I had wished for them to leave, but what's done is done," Alexandra said wistfully. "Well, thank you all for helping me, even though I scared you half to death!"

"I said, I _wasn't_ scared..." Ember grumbled.

"That sounds like something someone who was scared would say," Rusty taunted with a mischievous smile. Dustyn, Raven, and Alexandra all shared a laugh.

"Your screams woke me up last night," Ember flatly retorted. Rusty paused to think up a reply, but had no luck as a chorus of "ooh"-s and laughter signaled his defeat.

After the group's lively conversation settled down to silence, Alexandra sighed. "Well, I guess I should head back now," she said, looking past the lobby, and through the window. "Again, thank you all."

As Alexandra turned and began to walk to the door, Greyson spoke up. "Wait, Alexandra?" he called. She turned toward him, with a look on her face inviting Greyson's next words.

"Where is it you're going?" Greyson inquired.

"Back to the only home I have now," Alexandra replied, voice tinged with melancholy. "Back into the desert."

"Just maybe, would you like to come with us?" Greyson asked. "I'm not sure if you've heard of what happened at Beacon Academy, or about any of the schools in general. But, we're a group of huntsmen and huntresses from Beacon, who now go around slaying the grimm and helping people in need. I think you would be a strong ally."

Alexandra let out a surprised chuckle. "You'd really let a sandy misfit like me into your group of huntsmen?" she humbly asked, slowly walking back toward the group.

Greyson smirked. "Hey, right now, none of us are much more than sandy misfits," he reasoned.

Alexandra nodded once, a grateful smile coming to her face.

"I accept."

 **Character Notes: Alexandra Ité.**

Since Alexandra is from the deserts of Vacuo, I wanted to give her the name of some kind of rock. However, I also wanted her to represent a color not yet used. Therefore, I based her around Alexandrite. Alexandrite is a stone that appears green or purple depending on the light, hence her heterochromatic eyes and split color scheme.

Alexandra is the oldest in the group, at 19. Her birthday is June 19th.

If Alexandra existed in our world, her favorite song would be "Wherever I May Roam," by Metallica. She thinks it fits her pretty well.

I had never watched Princess Mononoke at the time of creating Alexandra, but I watched it since then and realized, at least in appearances, she's basically a desert version of San.

This was brought up in reviews, but I'll confirm. Alexandra was playing the Song of Healing the nights before revealing herself to Twilight Crusade. I always imagined her sitting back comfortably in a crag of the cliff above with a smug look in her eyes as she watched Twilight Crusade's terror.


	16. Liberation, Part One

The rest of August and much of September passed without incident. Alexandra, along with her eccentric, energetic, teasing, personality got along with Twilight Crusade easily. She and Kita had made friends with particular ease. The two found they always had much to talk about, both coming from remote, enigmatic tribes and untamed wild areas, largely cut off from society.

But, as the end of Summer drew near, so did the closure of Lago Del Sol Park, the home of Twilight Crusade since the fall of Beacon. On the final day of the park's operation, when most bags had been packed and the rest of Twilight Crusade had said their goodbyes to the area, Rusty and Raven once again walked together to the other end of the lake, this time at sunset.

Raven played around on the empty wooden bigtoy until content. Then, she slid down the largest slide one final time, and walked over to sit with Rusty, who pushed himself back and forth lazily on the swing.

Raven sat on the swing next to him, and pushed herself backward. She swung forward and backward, until coming to a near stop. "I... I'm kind of sad to be leaving," she quietly admitted.

"I sure won't miss the heat," Rusty reflected lightheartedly. "And it'll be nice to sleep in a real bed again, right?"

Raven made a small noise in agreement, and nodded slightly. "I just wish... I wish I had seen my mom," she continued sadly.

Rusty nodded in understanding. "Hey, these swings kinda hurt. Wanna go sit back there?" he asked, beckoning behind them to a picnic table that sat across the parking lot, feet from the water's edge.

"Y-Yeah, sure," Raven approved. The two walked over and sat again, facing the shore. The lights by the dock across the lake reflected across the water, painting the tip of each tiny ripple orange. The sky above was a deep blue, with dozens of stars above beginning the long night ahead.

"You know, I got used to it after a while, but it's so pretty here," Rusty remarked, looking across the lake and up the canyon wall. "I'd like to come back sometime."

Raven smiled slightly. "Yeah... I-I think I'd like to come back sometime too."

The two sat, discussing the good times they had in the park, and in Vacuo as a whole. They only realized how dark and late the night had become when they began to hear two sets of footsteps approaching. When the footsteps came close enough to become peculiar, Rusty nonchalantly looked over his shoulder.

"Hey, guys. Thought I might find you here," Greyson greeted, as he walked up to the table with Azure. "I was just gonna let you know, we have one more mission tomorrow night, right before we leave."

"O-Oh. Wh-What is it?" Raven inquired.

A sly smile came to Greyson's face, a look Raven could barely see in the limited light. "Well, in Great Canyon City, there's a woman," he began. "A sweet, middle-aged woman, being held captive by an abusive husband and his children. Does this ring a bell?"

A surprised smile came to Raven's face. She covered it with her hand and fought back the tears that threatened to form in her eyes. "M-My mother? B-But how? How are we going to save her?"

Greyson's sly smile expanded as he scratched an invisible itch on the back of his neck. "I hope you don't mind, but... we're going to kidnap her."

The next day, Lago Del Sol Park closed. By noon, Twilight Crusade had packed up and left, deciding to spend the day in Great Canyon City. The day was much like Greyson's birthday, but much more peaceful. The nine teens took a tour around the Great Canyon Dam, which included a small lecture on the heroic deeds of Twilight Crusade, did some sightseeing around the city, and ate at the same restaurant.

Then, sitting in a park in the shadow of the Great Canyon Dam, they waited for the dead of night.

"So, where was it again?" Greyson asked over his shoulder. He stalled the airship high over the city, just close enough to distinguish the individual features of each building and house in the streetlights.

"I-It's between the drainage ditch and the big hill of dirt," Raven told. "I-I'm kind of embarrassed, I w-wasn't rich before coming to Beacon..."

Ember sat up from where she lay down in back of the airship's main cabin. "Keep in mind, three of us have been homeless before this," she reminded.

Raven looked back at Ember, Alexandra, and Kita, and felt her shame subside a bit. But below, Raven saw the same dreary little house she had spent the first, miserable, seventeen and a half years of her life. White and green paint still peeled off the walls, chips of it falling into the dead yard. The same front window was still cracked badly, the glass looking as if covered by a spider's gleaming web. Two beaten-down cars sat in the driveway. Only one still worked. It was the same scene she had tried so hard to forget. She sighed.

"Okay, everyone. I'll drop Kita onto the roof, where she will keep lookout, then we land in the backyard," Greyson began. "I want Ember, Rusty, and... Ezelia to go in. Do _NOT_ hurt Raven's family. I'll stay here with everyone else. Got it?"

"Right!" Everyone affirmed.

"Umm... I have lots of brothers..." Raven warned. "M-Maybe it would be best if someone else went too."

Greyson nodded. "Dustyn, you go too. Now, it was this one, right?" He asked, pointing down to Raven's house.

"Y-Yes," Raven said.

"Alright. Masks, everyone?" Greyson asked. He saw everyone pull out matching ski masks, and pull them over their heads. He opened the side door to the airship, and Kita instantly jumped out, landing gracefully on the roof without a sound.

"She didn't even take the ladder!" Rusty exclaimed, holding a bundle of rope in his hand. "She's _insane!_ "

Greyson landed the airship slowly in Raven's backyard, barely missing the edge of her fence. "Good thing we've got a smaller model," he remarked. "Raven. Let the others know how to get in, but I want you to stay here with us."

Raven led the others to the door, then moved the potted plant next to it, revealing a spare key. She gave it to Ember, and walked back to the airship.

"Listen up," Ember said, as she prepared to turn the key in the lock. "Raven told me where the bedrooms are. I'll stand guard while Ezelia and Dustyn get Mrs. Corvis. Rusty, hold down her dad."

"I hope he's not a big dude," Rusty noted. "...I mean, right. I understand."

Ember quietly opened the back door, keeping two fingers on the hinge Raven warned may creak. She, Dustyn, Ezelia, and Rusty entered into the silent house. They stood first in a cramped, messy kitchen. Beyond the width of a hallway, Ember could see the living room.

Ember walked forward, and turned right into the hall. She walked to one of the doors on her left, preparing for the others to infiltrate the bedroom on the far right.

Dustyn forced open the door to Raven's parents' bedroom. His graceless slam into the wood, along with the doorknob scraping against the frame made an alarming metallic sound that roused both Raven's mother and stepfather. Rusty vaulted over to the far side of the bed, landing clumsily on the man who had caused Raven so much grief. Rusty could make out a large nose, two dark, beady eyes and a grimace full of crooked teeth. The man's hair had long since begun to retreat to the sides of his head, leaving the top bald.

Seeing Raven's stepfather so close made Rusty want to vomit, punch him, and cry, all at once.

The two struggled for several seconds as Dustyn and Ezelia pulled Mrs. Corvis from her bed. They had to be forceful, but made sure to be as careful as possible.

"Please! D-Don't hurt us! W-We don't have much money! Please!" Mrs. Corvis pleaded.

"Miss, please. Come with us. We'll explain," Dustyn comforted with surprising calm.

"We're not gonna hurt you one bit!" Ezelia added cheerily.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" A younger man yelled. The door in front of Ember burst open to reveal a boy in his late teens, baseball bat raised above his head.

He brought the bat down on Ember. She dodged to the side, and aimed a kick at her attacker's wrist. She heard a slight crack and a yell of pain as the bat flew against the door frame and onto the ground. Raven's brother bent over, clutching his wrist.

Another set of arms lunged for the bat. Ember stepped on the bat, looking into the eyes of the even younger boy who had leaped in to help his brother.

"It's past your bedtime," Ember calmly scolded. She kicked the bat into her hands and slung it across her shoulders. "Now go back to sleep before I knock you back."

"Woooooo! We got her! We did it!" Ezelia shouted into the darkness as she ran down the hall. Dustyn was by her side, along with Raven's mother. Ember turned and ran with the other two, setting the bat down just outside.

Dustyn and Ezelia ran toward the airship despite Mrs. Corvis's protests. Ember turned to account for everyone. Dustyn, Ezelia, and Raven's mother made their way into the airship, where they would meet Greyson, Azure, Raven, and Alexandra. Kita still stood watch, and would be picked up on the way out. Ember froze.

"Guys? Where's the last one?" Ember called back to Dustyn and Ezelia, careful not to shout Rusty's name into the night.

" _Our_ last one? He didn't come out?" Dustyn responded, poking head and shoulders out of the airship.

Ember turned around, looking back to the house. She feared what may have happened as she and the others made their escape.


	17. Liberation, Part Two

Ember collected her thoughts, and faced the doorway. She stepped back toward the house slowly, glancing at the bat. As her gloved hand once again reached for the weapon, the sound of shattering glass broke her concentration. Rusty tumbled out the backyard window at the opposite end of the house, awkwardly shuffled along in a half-run, half-crawl for a few steps, then straightened up and ran toward the airship.

"It has been a pleasure to meet you, sir! But I'm afraid I should be _going!_ " he shouted gleefully as he jumped between the airship's doors. Ember followed him in. Immediately, the airship rose above Raven's fence, and to the height of her former home. Kita jumped in, and the ship ascended quickly into the night, disappearing into the darkness as a cacophony of shouts and swears echoed from below.

"You idiot. We were here for a kidnapping, not vandalism," Ember reprimanded. "You didn't leave any blood behind, did you?"

Rusty looked himself over. "No..? I don't think so..." he reported. "What a strange way to ask if I'm hurt."

"That's _not_ what I care about..." Ember bitterly returned.

"Please! M-My daughter... my only baby is gone! I don't... I don't have ANYTHING!" Mrs. Corvis continued to plead, her whimpering cries raising into a frantic shout. She quieted down again, defeated. "I... I lost my beautiful daughter wh-when Beacon fell. My only love in this world, and... she's gone," she wept. "I guess, you can do with me whatever you please..."

For a few seconds, all that could be heard in the cabin was the whirr of the engine.

"...You can take your masks off now," Greyson soberly declared.

Raven, who sat directly in front of her mother, took off her mask first. Her unruly jet black hair puffed out more than usual as it was freed from the black fabric, and a couple of feathers stuck out at odd angles, but she was unmistakably Raven.

Her mother's eyes went wide. She backed off cautiously for a few seconds, as if she believed the girl in front of her to be an impostor, a fake created to torment her. Raven's mother held out a shaking hand, and brushed a lock of hair from Raven's face. Her fingertips came to rest on her daughter's cheek.

"Mom... I-It's me," Raven said.

The two lunged forward, joining in a tight embrace. Tears of joy streamed from both of their faces as they met for the first time in nearly a year.

"Th-They told you I was dead?" Raven asked in indignant disbelief.

"Yes, and... and I was so stupid to believe them! I should have known my daughter was stronger than that! I... I'm so sorry!" her mother replied. The two separated.

"I-It's okay. It's over now," Raven comforted. "Everything th-that happened. It's over, a-and we're taking you far away."

"Who knew..." Mrs. Corvis began shakily. "...Who knew my lovely little girl would grow up to be my hero?"

Greyson looked in the mirror to his right side, catching his first clear glimpse of Raven's mother. The family resemblance was obvious. Mrs. Corvis stood a few inches taller than her daughter, but had the same small frame. She seemed to be nearing fifty. Her black hair, feathered like her daughter's, had begun to grey. Her face was slightly longer and skinnier than her daughter's round face, but held similar wide, dark, eyes and defined, pitch-black eyebrows. Their noses were near identical.

"I-I'm sorry I took so long to find you," Raven returned. She turned to the side, motioning to all of Twilight Crusade. "Th-These are my friends."

Everyone turned to Raven and her mother, except for Greyson, who continued flying the airship. To make up for not being a part of the introduction, he switched on dim overhead lights. "Th-That's Greyson over there flying the ship, a-and he's our leader. He brought me in, to everyone here," Raven began. "Th-That's Azure. Sh-She's related to the Schnee family, b-but is actually really nice!" Azure smiled brightly and waved. "That's Ember... sh-she takes a while to warm up to people, and has a kind of... harsh, sarcastic way of speaking, b-but when she does warm up to people, she's an amazing friend."

"Hey, you _do_ know I'm right here?" Ember protested.

"I-I mean it in the best way possible!" Raven comforted. "Th-These two are Dustyn and Ezelia, m-my teammates from Beacon. From the good team, I-I mean. Th-This is Kita. She's from th-the Shrouded Fox! But, nobody is supposed to know, s-so we just say she's from Mistral. And the girl next to her is Alexandra. W-We met her recently, but she's really nice too."

Kita nodded politely and Alexandra waved. Rusty sat down next to Raven.

"A-And of course, this is Rusty!" Raven introduced, with a wide smile on her face.

"Hello, Mrs. Corvis," Rusty politely said. "I'm sorry the first thing you ever saw me do was tackle your husband."

Raven's mother waved her hand, dismissing the incident. "I'm free now. That man is _not_ my husband," she said firmly. "But, I have heard a lot about you!"

Rusty chuckled. "Uh-oh. What have you heard?" he joked.

"That you're a wonderful young man that makes my daughter feel like the most wonderful, important, beautiful girl in the world," Mrs. Corvis said. Raven's reddening face sink deep into her hands. "...And that was before you two started dating!"

"M-Mom! Please!"

"Alright, alright," Mrs. Corvis yielded with a smile. She lowered her voice to speak with Raven. "By the way... where is it we're going?"

Raven paused. She realized Greyson had never settled on anywhere in specific. There had been talks of returning to Vale, but he never seemed very enthusiastic, and no one in Twilight Crusade knew what was left in the attacked kingdom.

"E-Excuse me? Greyson?" Raven said. "Wh-Where are we going?"

"We're going to spend a while in Mistral," Greyson said. "Gonna go back home, enjoy some nice, relaxing holidays, and maybe make some Lien working for my parents."

"We're headed home?" Rusty repeated. "Man, it's gonna be weird to be back." His eyes lit up. "Hey, Mrs. Corvis? My parents are human-faunus equality advocates in the Mistral Kingdom. Maybe you could stay with us, we could help you get back on your feet!"

Raven's mother paused in consideration. "Well, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd love to take you up on that offer. But I will try to be out of your way as soon as I can," she remarked.

Rusty shook his head. "You can spend as long as you like with us. It's the type of stuff my parents love to do, and we're pretty well-off," he assured. "Hey, Greyson? About how long until we land? I uh... didn't have time to mentally prepare myself for flying."

Greyson chuckled. "We should land by about ten in the morning. I figure half of us can stay in my house, the other half in yours?"

Rusty nodded. "Boy, things are gonna be crowded for a bit," he commented.

Greyson smiled at the thought of everyone living in comfort for the holidays, back in the home he grew up in. He looked forward. Nothing but darkness. Glancing at the map on his scroll, he saw himself to be flying over the open ocean. He let out a deep breath, feeling his hands steady on the controls. Greyson had not spoken to his family since the fall of Beacon, as the cross-kingdom communication had been down. He had a feeling in his gut that his family was safe. He hoped the feeling was true, some hint of his semblance. What he was unsure of was how long Mistral would be safe. With the Phantom's attacks, and whatever had happened at Beacon months earlier looming overhead, a feeling of unease crept into his mind. He shook it off, continuing to fly through the night. Hours passed, and the black of night began to ease into a dark blue.

Greyson squinted. On the horizon, he could see the first, easternmost lights of Mistral.

 **That's a wrap for Twilight Crusade Volume 1! It may seem like not much happened in the way of plot, but this volume was meant as a buildup for the rest of the series.**

 **Anyway, I'm keeping Twilight Crusade all in one book, so I'll rename it shortly. Book 2 is expected to come out on November 17th or 18th!**


	18. V2: Home

**Twilight Crusade Book Two, Phantom Church**

The grass below Greyson's feet was a rich, verdant green and freshly cropped, in stark opposition to the golden stalks blowing lazily in the breeze outside the white picket fence. Greyson, and the rest of Twilight Crusade just behind him, stood quietly on the flat top of a cliff overlooking a wide river of deep blue. The sky above reflected in its ripples. On the opposite bank, rolling hills of waving grass, their golden hue a match to the cliff Greyson stood on. Far beyond, and to the North, the jagged crest of the Yamakori mountains peeked above the horizon.

Greyson knelt down slowly, and used his hand to sweep a wad of dead grass from the marble plate embedded in the ground. He read the name etched into the stone years ago.

" _Lazula Indigo."_

Below her name were two dates, a week less than fifteen years apart.

"I'm home, Lazula..." Greyson solemnly said. "Sorry it's been longer than usual. Things got complicated, but I'm safe." He carefully placed a modest bouquet across the bottom of her gravestone. A weak smile etched across his lips, but his voice wavered. "Thank you for saving me back in Winter. Thanks to you, I was able to save some people, over in Vacuo."

Tears finally broke from Greyson's eyes, bouncing off the marble and onto his hands. He shook, head lowering. "I... I miss you. I'm happy again, but still. I miss you."

"Hey, guys?" Rusty earnestly addressed. "...Maybe we should go wait at the ship."

"Y-Yeah," Raven agreed. Twilight Crusade, apart from Azure, Kita, and Greyson, all returned to the ship, providing Greyson his privacy. Kita remained at her spot under the cemetery's single oak tree, holding her mask in front of her face and staring into the white inside. Azure stepped forward, kneeling beside Greyson and placing a hand on his back.

"Hey, Greyson?" she gently began. "I've been thinking... about the future. If, hypothetically one day we _do_ get married, and have kids... well, Lazula would be a pretty name for a girl."

Greyson pulled back with slight surprise. He looked into Azure's eyes, despite his own being red and soaking with tears. Azure wiped one off his cheek, and her hand gently came to rest on his shoulder.

"Yeah, it is a pretty name, isn't it?" Greyson responded.

The flight to Greyson and Rusty's hometown of Hajimaru was only another five minutes. Despite its traditional Mistrali name, Hajimaru was a suburb of downtown Mistral, filled with modern architecture more closely resembling a city in Vale than any city in the rest of the kingdom. While Hajimaru began as a commuter town for downtown Mistral, which was about a ten minute drive Northeast, residents began to open businesses of their own. Greyson's parents had considered opening a second Skye Cafe closer to home, or even relocating the original, but never had the money.

Greyson awkwardly landed Twilight Crusade's airship on the street outside Rusty's house. It was of moderate size, about midway down a hill lined with homes. The walls were painted a fresh coat of grey, the trim, railings, and gutters stark white. Rusty paused as the others walked forward. So much had changed since living in this house. Yet, it still looked so much the same. Rusty shuffled past the others as they crowded onto the porch. He took a deep breath, then pressed the doorbell.

Rusty's mother opened the door. She halted with surprise for a second, then wordlessly smiled, and stepped forward to hug her son. She then turned, and hugged Raven as well. "Welcome home," she finally said.

Beyond his mother, Rusty saw the same tile flooring covering the entryway, the same lighthouse painting hanging on the wall opposite the door, the same stairway creating that wall, cutting across his vision and leading up to the bedrooms. To the left was a spacious living room, with light walls and carpeting, and dark furniture. The door further down the left wall led to the room Rusty's father spent most of his time, a dark "man cave," complete with a flat screen television that covered much of the wall opposite the couch. To the right of the entry was Rusty's dining room, where he had eaten countless dinners next to the bay window. He remembered beyond the dining room was a hallway that led in front of the stairway to the kitchen, renovated just before Rusty left to Beacon. The "man cave," kitchen area, hallway, and dining room formed a rectangle around the central stairway, which went upward from the right of the house to the left.

"Thanks, mom," Rusty returned. He glanced over his shoulder, looking for Raven's mother. She stood at the back, and Rusty beckoned to her. "This is Raven's mom. She had a bit of a... _rough_ situation back in Vacuo. Do you think we could take her in?"

"Oh, of course!" Rusty's mother exclaimed. His father joined her at the door, morning newspaper in hand. "I can prepare our guest room."

"Thank you _so_ much, Mrs. Braun," Mrs. Corvis fervently thanked. "I'll try to be out of your hair as soon as possible!"

"No, no. Don't worry about it at all," Mrs. Braun dismissed. "I'm sure it will be a pleasure to have you. And we always have extra room here!"

"Actually, mom..." Rusty cut in. He smiled sheepishly. "We _kiiiinda_ need a place for half of us..."

Rusty, Raven, Dustyn, Ezelia, and Alexandra all decided to join Mrs. Corvis in staying at Rusty's house. The airship holding Greyson, Azure, Ember, and Kita was quiet as it soared through the morning air. It felt strange, Greyson thought. All Summer he spent together with every member of Twilight Crusade. Even at Beacon, teams GRAE and VRDE were hardly apart. Now, they were split in half. Spread from one end of Hajimaru to the other.

Luckily, Greyson lived next to a grassy field perfect for parking his airship. When the door to his house opened, he was met by a tight hug from his little sister, and the adoring gaze of both his parents. Greyson shuffled inside, barely fitting his multiple bags through the doorway.

A straight , open walkway of hardwood floor led directly to the backdoor. Three stairs down to Greyson's right was the living room. A couple of couches, a chair, and a coffee table were arranged to face a television. A brick fireplace decorated the furthest wall. Around the corner of the wall that separated kitchen from living room, and up three stairs, was the dining room. To Greyson's immediate left, stairs led up to a bathroom and several bedrooms.

"That's my boy!" Greyson's father exclaimed, a wide grin across his face. "Bringing all the ladies home, are we?"

Both Greyson and his mother turned to him disdainfully. "You'd better not be bringing any other ladies home," Mrs. Skye scolded. She turned to Greyson. "And you'd better be good to Azure, you hear me? She's a sweet girl."

Greyson's face reddened as he set down the heaviest of his bags. "Mom, these are my _friends._ I hope this isn't too much of a hassle, but we need to stay here for a while."

"Oh, no worries at all, dear!" Mrs. Skye responded brightly. "Really, the only issue will be finding you all comfortable places to sleep!"

"I do not need sleep as most people do," Kita commented. She bowed. "You do not need to worry about me."

Mrs. Skye looked to Kita, masking her surprised confusion with a smile. "I don't think we've met, dear. What's your name?"

"My name is Kita Kurayami. I am in self-imposed exile from-" Kita began to introduce.

"She's from remote Mistral. Up North, somewhere," Greyson cut in. "We picked her up on a field trip. Really, it's a bit of a long story."

"Well, I'm sure it'll be a pleasure to have you around," Mrs. Skye returned. "I'm sure you figured this out already, but I'm Greyson's mom, and that weirdo over there is his dad. This is Greyson's little sister, Holly." Mrs. Skye signalled to where Holly stood seconds before. She looked puzzled at her absence, then looked over to Azure.

Holly hugged Azure tightly, and Azure hugged back. "Is my big brother still being nice to you?" Holly asked after pulling back.

"Yes, you don't need to worry," Azure assured warmly.

"Good!" Holly returned. "Where's the other girl, with hair like mine?"

"She's at her boyfriend's. He lives on the other side of town," Greyson explained. He looked up to his parents. "Raven and Rusty, if you guys remember them. They actually have more staying at his place," he noted.

For the rest of the day, Greyson, Azure, Ember, and Kita settled into Greyson's house. Ember and Kita first hung around the living room as Greyson's parents spoke with everyone, but after Greyson's father left to work at the Skye Cafe, it became clear Mrs. Skye seemed most intent on talking with Azure. They retreated upstairs, finding places to set their bags for good. Holly seemed drawn like a magnet to Azure, hugging her right side as Greyson sat to her left.

Greyson and Azure recalled everything that happened since last meeting Mrs. Skye, including their mission, meeting Team VRDE, a partially-modified account of meeting Kita, the Vytal Tournament, a glossing over of Beacon's fall, and the months spent in Vacuo. Holly was mystified. Mrs. Skye was concerned for her son's safety. Greyson felt something as he described where he had been, and everything he had been through. So much conflict, so much fear, living in three different kingdoms in about as many months. He soon realized what he felt.

Relief.

After everything that happened, he was home.

 **Note: If you want a refresher on what Greyson and Rusty's parents look like, they are described in the earliest chapters of GRAE volume 2. Also, Twilight Crusade has officially caught up to where I was on DeviantArt! If you'd like to see snippets of my thoughts, pictures and notes about my characters, and things I wasn't able to fit into my series, look up TeamGRAE!**


	19. V2: Back to Work

The Skye Cafe was a two-story light brown building, one door away from a corner in downtown Mistral. It was a popular spot for students of Haven Academy to study, hang out after classes, or maybe even go on a casual date. These ties to Haven nearly tempted Greyson to attend the school, but everything came down to Beacon's financial aid offer. Despite travel fees, and the inconvenience of moving to an entirely different continent, Beacon was the cheaper offer.

Inside, the Skye Cafe held an eternally quiet, lazy, laid-back atmosphere. Upon entry, the front counter was straight ahead. To the right of the cash register was a pastry display. Further right, seven stools lined up at the counter, bar-style. Three circular four person tables occupied the front of the room, situated along the wide window, which opened out to the street. On the right wall, paintings of Mistral hung above three booths, which led back to the bathrooms.

The floor, front counter, booth tables, and halfway up the wall, were all sculpted from the same dark wood. The upper half of the wall was a lighter hardwood, covered behind the front counter by a chalkboard menu. Drawings of pumpkins and orange leaves neatly decorated the edges of the board, framing the multiple drinks, pastries, and sandwiches the shop offered. The smaller tables at the shop's front were grey, and their chairs black. The booth seats were a lighter shade of brown.

Rusty, Raven, and Azure sat at the end of the bar, furthest away from the pastry display. They had come to visit Greyson on his first day back at work, but kept mostly to themselves as Greyson dealt with the morning rush. Azure sat back and admired Greyson in his work outfit, his usual black jeans and grey hoodie replaced with black slacks, a black dress shirt, a brown tie, and a white apron.

Once Greyson finished with the line, Ember appeared from the back room, tying a matching apron behind her back. Greyson stood at a coffee maker, watching the mug below fill up. Pouring coffee, dealing with customers, and gazing out the window to downtown Mistral in his down time felt so long ago, but still so familiar.

"Waited for the rush to die down, huh?" Greyson teased. He finished filling the mug, and slid it to a young man in a blue button-up.

"Wasn't my choice. Your dad decided to give me a history lesson about the shop," Ember acutely returned. "Anything still need doing?"

"No, I think I have everything covered for now," Greyson replied. "Just keep an eye on the front for me, please. Oh! Could you grab the chocolate actually? I'm almost out up here."

"Even seeing her working here, it's hard to believe she wanted a job at a place like this," Rusty noted aside to Azure and Raven. Ember heard.

She walked over to their place at the bar, grabbing the chocolate syrup for a customer's mocha from under the counter. "And, why's that?" she questioned. She lowered her voice. "Thought I'd actually make some honest money for once."

"Fair," Rusty admitted. He rubbed his neck nervously, cracking a smile. "You just... don't seem like the 'customer service' type."

"Shut it," Ember replied. She turned to Greyson, and handed him his request.

"...And that's exactly what I was talking about," Rusty commented.

Greyson and Ember finished all the drink orders without more customers coming into the shop. The two lounged around for a couple minutes, speaking absently with Rusty, Azure, and Raven, wiping up messes made during the morning rush, and glancing out the window to watch people walk by. Greyson turned to Ember.

"You probably have an idea about how to do it, but wanna watch me deal with the next customer?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," Ember agreed. The two waited several minutes, before a heavyset man in a white, red-striped shirt and khaki pants arrived. He looked to be about forty, with a full head of brown hair, and a bushy beard. The man paused on entry, then cracked a smile and waved at Greyson.

"Greyson! It's been too long, good to see ya again!" the man called as he approached the counter.

"Yeah, good to see you too, Mister Umber," Greyson replied. His 'customer service' voice was appropriately friendly, but still held the usual air of calm, near-monotony. "What can I get for you?"

"How many times is this I've told ya to call me Terrae? Just the house blend this morning, please," Terrae replied. Greyson took his order, swiped his card, handed Terrae his receipt, and began to make his drink. Terrae sat down at the counter, furthest seat away from Azure, Rusty, and Raven.

Ember dealt with a couple up front as Greyson made Terrae's coffee. He turned around, giving the drink to his customer. Ember gave Greyson the receipt of the next order, and Greyson began to make their drinks. "You were at Beacon when it fell, weren't you?" Terrae suddenly asked. "That must've been rough... they even got that celebrity girl. Pyrrha Nikos, wasn't it?"

Greyson stopped as he nearly dropped the mug in his hands. He lowered it slowly, and turned. "Pyrrha? What do you mean, they 'got her?" he hollowly asked.

"You didn't hear? She went missing during the Battle of Beacon. All they found were her weapons and armor." he paused, looking into his coffee with a twinge of regret at speaking casually about the incident. "...Did you know her?"

"...Yeah. We didn't talk much, but I knew her," Greyson replied measuredly. He turned back around to prepare the couple's order. "I've been in Vacuo all Summer," he explained. "Didn't hear anything about that."

"Oh," Terrae responded awkwardly. "Well, I'm sorry I was the bringer of bad news."

For the next half hour, as Greyson continued taking orders and pouring coffee, Azure noticed something. His movements, usually quick, practiced, and deliberate, came sluggishly. Twice he nearly knocked a coffee container to the floor, and once he dropped a customer's pastry. Most took no notice, but Azure knew something weighed heavily on his mind.

After reaching the end of a particularly long newspaper article, Terrae adjusted himself on his stool, and pulled his wallet. He produced two one-lien notes from it, placed them on the counter, and slid them to Greyson with a sly grin.

"Hey," Terrae called, voice barely above a whisper. Greyson came closer, and leaned in inconspicuously, pretending to inspect a blueberry muffin from the side of the pastry display. "Don't look now," Terrae cautioned. "But I think that cute blonde at the end of the counter was lookin' at ya!" He pulled back, giving Greyson a wink and inviting him to the two-lien tip on the counter. Greyson thanked him, and he was on his way.

Soon after, Azure, Rusty, and Raven left the Skye Cafe to explore downtown Mistral. They walked through the bustling side streets, cobblestone walkways and roads packed door-to-door with tiny shops and cafes, their fronts painted a rainbow of color.

The group reached the end of a block. As they waited, Azure looked around. No passers by within earshot. With a sigh, she turned to Rusty.

"Greyson seemed really off after he heard what happened to Pyrrha..." Azure noted. "I'm not jealous, or angry _at all_ , but... do you think he still had feelings for her? Even just a little?"

Rusty cocked his head in thought as the "walk" signal flashed on the other side of the street. He stepped forward. "Hmm, probably not. He told me back in Winter you were the only one he thought about, and I believe him," Rusty assured casually. He pursed his lips, as if considering whether to continue. "I... think I know why it still hit him so hard."

"Why is that? If you think he wouldn't mind me asking?" Azure prompted. The shops were forgotten. She walked straight forward with Rusty and Raven, further from the Skye Cafe, into an unfamiliar city.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it has to do with Lazula's death," Rusty explained somberly. "It was already so hard on him, but there were some rumors going around, making it all worse. Greyson and Lazula were two of the strongest fighters in our grade at Sanctum. Apart from Pyrrha, of course. People just didn't think Lazula was the type to be killed by a common ursa. Especially with Greyson there too." Rusty slowed his pace until pausing at the next corner. "There were rumors going around that Greyson killed her."

Azure felt her heart skip a beat with surprise. The next beat, her surprise was replaced by both sympathy for Greyson, and anger toward his accusers. "But he'd never do that! I know there's absolutely _no_ way!"

"Of course he didn't do it. I didn't know him before what happened, but I saw them together. And after Lazula's death, I saw how... _broken_ Greyson was. I tried to tell people their rumors were a load of bull at first, but nobody listened," Rusty recalled, voice wracked with regret at his own powerlessness. "But then Pyrrha joined in. She knew Greyson couldn't have done it. Just like that, as soon as she spoke out against the rumors, no one believed them anymore. The whole thing lifted like fog."

"Oh... I see..." Azure said faintly. "He already blames himself so much for her death. I can't imagine how much he went through back then..."

"Really, I don't know what would have happened to Greyson if things continued the way they were," Rusty added. "People Greyson got along well with at first turned right around and called him a murderer." He sighed. "...But, I guess it's not all bad. That's how we met. I like to think me reaching out to him helped a little, but I'm not sure."

"I-I think it must have," Raven commented.

Azure nodded in solemn agreement. "Even just having one person there for him helped, I'm sure," she said. "Thank you."


	20. V2: Harvest Festival

The last days of September, and half of October, passed peacefully. Greyson and Ember continued their work at the Skye Cafe. Azure visited frequently at first, but stopped early in October after she swore she saw Vladimir strolling by on the other side of the road. He did not seem to notice her, but the incident was far too close a call for both Azure and Greyson. The two trained against each other and against grimm in the woods, occasionally bringing other members of Twilight Crusade along. Of course, Kita always snuck out with them to keep watch.

Midway through October, Greyson and the others decided to take a trip to visit Mistral's Harvest Festival. Greyson had not been in years, but from what he remembered, it was free entry for an afternoon of cheap food, concerts, and fireworks at the end of the night.

Azure's finger stealthily snuck toward Greyson's scroll, which was plugged into the dashboard of Twilight Crusade's airship. As Greyson focused on the sky ahead, Azure poked at the screen, changing the music to a station she preferred. Without a word, Greyson switched it back. Before his arm had returned to his body, Azure returned to her favored station.

"Hey. I'm driving, so I get to decide," Greyon argued. He switched back to Mistral's alternative rock station.

"Okay, but I'm not sure anyone else wants to listen to this..." Azure retorted.

"Heya, don't fight! You can all listen to my music!" Alexandra offered, holding out her stone flute.

"I'm down, as long as you don't play what you did back at the mine," Rusty chimed in.

"Oh, you mean this one?" Alexandra excitedly asked. She raised the flute to her lips and began to play the song that created abject terror in the hearts of Twilight Crusade during their investigation for the Agaupt Company. Before her first three notes finished, an uproar in the cabin had drowned her out. She lowered her flute with a mischievous laugh.

"B-By the way, wh-why did you learn how to play that?" Raven inquired.

"Well, I had to do _something_ to save me from the boredom out in the desert. I tried singing at first but not even _I_ wanted to listen to that," Alexandra explained. The members of Twilight Crusade who heard laughed. Greyson used the distraction to his advantage, and switched the radio stealthily. Azure paid no notice until the ship landed.

Upon entry to the Harvest Festival, Greyson was a little put off by the festival's "no weapon" policy. Understandable, he thought. Yet he could not shake the apprehension at the back of his mind. The feeling that the Harvest Festival would end up exactly like the incident at the Great Canyon Dam.

Greyson's mind felt slightly more at ease once he made his way into the crowd. The festival was held in the same location every year; a park situated on a wide, grassy hill, about a twenty minute drive North of Downtown Mistral. The food stands sat at the flat top of the hill in a line, the twenty different options offering noodles, sandwiches, sweet and savory pastries, and a multitude of deserts. The top was always far too crowded for Greyson's tastes, so he always made a point of buying his food, and retreating down the hill immediately, either to the picnic area and rows of vendors' stands on the hill's right side, or the amphitheater on the left. Surrounding the park on all sides, except the parking lot at the top, was a thick, dark, forest.

The sky above was steel grey, casting a gloomy hue over the otherwise lively gathering. No rain broke through the clouds, and the winds were light, nothing more than gentle breezes. However, the threat of a storm loomed overhead.

After splitting apart to order food, Twilight Crusade regrouped on a row of seats in the main amphitheater. Greyson sat between Kita and Azure, scarfing down the bowl of noodles he bought with Alexandra and Kita. Nine performers took the stage, all wearing stark white makeup, and colorful, kimono-like clothing. The nine danced around the middle of the stage, striking thunderous drums and clashing wooden clappers. The chaotic song swirled through the theater. Eventually, their performance ended, and they walked offstage.

The next performers looked much more like a modern band, plugging in electric guitar amps and wheeling a drumset to the back of the stage. One stood near the drumset, tuning an electric guitar. Another carried a microphone stand to the center of the stage. The massive screen behind the stage flicked on, and the band's lead singer was shown as he adjusted the microphone to mouth height.

"That was much like a performance held by the people of the Shrouded Fox," Kita noted. "Of course, ours were much smaller."

"The Shrouded Fox sounds so cool," Alexandra commented. "I mean, other than all that exile stuff, you know? I wish I was part of them instead of wandering around the desert throughout the entirety of my teenage years..."

"By the way, how did you even survive out there so long?" Ezelia asked, leaning forward, turning her head, and calling across Dustyn. "Most people, like, die out there, right?"

Alexandra leaned back casually. "Yeah, but being a powerful dust wielder has its perks sometimes," she explained. "Shelter and fire whenever I need it. And there's usually water _somewhere_ in the sand."

Ezelia cracked an excited grin. "So, hypothetically, would you be able to make a cage out of stone? Maybe like, ten feet in every direction?" she asked. "All hypothetical, of course."

"Yeah, that would be easy," Alexandra replied.

"Ezelia, _please_ don't try to study live grimm again. You almost lost your arm last time," Dustyn pleaded. He turned to Alexandra. "And you. Don't enable her!"

"I said it was all hypothetical!" Ezelia protested.

Greyson sat next to the lighthearted conversation, yet felt no joy. His head had lowered almost between his knees, resting in the palm of his hand. He paid no attention to his friends next to him, nor the band that had begun to play. The mild apprehension from the beginning of the festival had coalesced into terror.

"Greyson, what's wrong?" Azure asked, placing a hand on Greyson's back. "I thought this was the type of music you liked. I should be the one curling up in disgust right about now!"

Greyson raised his head toward Azure with a blank stare. "We have to go," he stated. "To the entrance, where our weapons are. Now, before it's too late."

"What?" Azure replied in surprise. Fear filled her eyes. "Don't tell me... is it your semblance again!?"

"Yeah. Everyone! We're going now," Greyson commanded, raising his voice above the rock music blaring from the speakers. He stood up. "Our weapons are at the front, we have to-"

Greyson halted as the lead singer's microphone cut out in the middle of a note. A bizarre electric sound emanated from the speakers as the screen glitched. Then, a screech followed by static. Much of the audience covered their ears as the harsh noises broke from the massive speakers. Some of the festival-goers atop the hill abandoned their spots in line out of curiosity.

Silence followed.

Another strange electric sound, a twin of the first, along with the same glitch. The screen behind the stage gradually brightened from blackness to show a hooded figure, white mask painted to look like the skull of a mammal. The crowd roared in horror as they realized who stared down upon them.

The White Fang's Phantom.

"Greetings, patrons of Mistral's Harvest Festival," the Phantom greeted formally, his already distorted voice obscured further by static. "The White Fang has planted bombs at several locations within the perimeter of this park, and has set them for demolition in ten minutes. There is no hope in fleeing. The grimm have already surrounded the premises. Your only option is to surrender to us, kneeling as faunus have done for humans far too long, or perish. All faunus, you may surrender without fear of harm."

The screams from the crowd intensified as humans and faunus alike scrambled in disorganized, chaotic, terror. People shoved past each other to reach the exit, ignoring the Phantom's warning.

Greyson heard a rumble of thunder overhead. Then, the screeches of several nevermore, and even more griffons. He looked around, and was painfully reminded of Beacon's Fall. A wall of beowolves and ursa crept in from the surrounding woods, roaring as they tore up vendors' tents and chased horrified civilians. A beringel jumped down from an old pine tree, pounding its chest and cornering a group of terrified teenagers. A deathstalker stood between him and the entry, where Twilight Crusade's weapons were held captive.

All these grimm, and he was completely helpless. Nothing more than a civilian caught in another of the Phantom's heinous terror attacks.

"There are grimm _everywhere_! What the hell do we do, man!?" Rusty shouted.

Greyson looked to Rusty, then looked to the swarm of human and grimm alike. He hesitated. "I... I don't know," he finally admitted. "We're completely unarmed, surrounded by the enemy in a minefield." He grimaced, too ashamed to look up at any of his friends. "We... we might have to surrender if we want to live. And we'll convince others to do the same..."

"That's... _so_ unlike you," Azure commented. "There must be _something_ we can do, right?"

"What?" Greyson questioned. "We have no weapons! Even if we survive the next ten minutes, the bombs will kill us!"

"Well, part of that is incorrect. We're not _completely_ weaponless!" Alexandra declared. She pointed to the gem held within the tiara atop her head, a confident smile coming to her face. "The Crown Jewel is more than just a fashion accessory!"

 **Note: Sorry, but uploads (including this one) will be pretty slow for the next couple weeks. Finals are soon, and I'm currently very busy with things but I'll try my best to keep up somewhat!**


	21. V2: Crown Jewel

"Wait, you're planning on fighting all the grimm alone?" Greyson questioned, glancing nervously upward as a nevermore tore through the sky.

"Nope. I mean, I probably could if I wanted to, but here," Alexandra replied. She raised her arms in front of her, over an open patch of dirt. She closed her eyes in focus, and twelve knobs of stone, each about an inch and a half across, broke from the soil, along with what looked like the edge of a dinner plate. The knobs rose out of the dirt, a trail of stone under them. The trails widened in one direction, and flattened in the other. Two eventually took the form of Blitz and Nimbus. Two more made up the halves of Azure's Moonbow. Four resembled Ember's daggers. The last four stone forms almost exactly resembled Raven's xiphos, Dustyn's Boomstick, Ezelia's Grimm Cat, and Kenakuma. The rounded edge of rock rose from the dirt, taking the form of Raven's shield.

"They don't shoot, but they should be about the same size and weight as your weapons," Alexandra explained. She turned from her creations to Rusty with a sheepish grimace. "I, uhh... I didn't know how to make your thing. Good luck!"

Ember grabbed the handle of the first stone dagger, and tossed it to Rusty. He fumbled it through the air before clumsily securing it.

"Here. Protect yourself. Stay close to Raven and I if you need to," Ember ordered. She balanced the second dagger on her palm, flipped it into the other hand, and flung it between the eyes of a charging beowolf. "Well balanced, sharp, and light for a rock," she noted. "Not bad."

Alexandra snapped her left arm to the side, instantly impaling an ursa with three stony spikes. "Thanks! I'll be too busy to make more though, so try to keep track of 'em."

Ember took off running, sprinting forward to retrieve the dagger. She ripped it from the beowolf's head, finished off two more, then turned to attack a pair of ursa. Raven jumped in to help with stone weapons at the ready, and Rusty tailed behind anxiously, holding the dagger in both his hands like a tiny sword. Greyson led Azure and Kita up toward the food stands, where the terrified crowd tried its best to escape the deathstalker and a handful of smaller grimm. Dustyn and Ezelia made their way to the picnic area and vendors' stands, hacking through any grimm that got in their way.

Alexandra raised her right hand outward, and a wall tore up from the dirt between the beringel and the group of terrified teenagers. As the beast jumped atop the wall, she cracked a grin and ripped her hand sideways, sending dozens of needle-sharp spikes of stone through it. The monster screeched before fading away.

Next, Alexandra turned her focus to a beowolf that came too close to a large family near the center of the amphitheater. She conjured another wall before destroying the beast with a barrage of spikes from below.

Alexandra dodged backwards as a griffon dive bombed her. " _Stone again is too boring,_ " she thought. She looked around, spotting a plethora of cups that had been left half-full in a panic by festival customers.

" _Perfect._ "

A flurry of ice crystals, the colors of all the drinks left behind, surrounded Alexandra and coalesced into a rainbow of icicles. The icicles floated for a split second before barraging the griffon in a furious hailstorm. Alexandra heard several simultaneous screams of terror. Whipping her head around, she saw a massive nevermore diving a group of six women. Alexandra snapped her fingers as she pointed to the huge, avian beast, and a wicked bolt of lightning struck down from the clouds with a deafening clap of thunder. The beast vaporized. Alexandra grit her teeth as she stuck both hands out, forming the lightning into a ball of focused dust. She flung it at the second nevermore, watching with satisfaction as the creature fell.

Within another minute, Alexandra and the others had defeated all the grimm too dumb or too proud to retreat back into the forest. Several humans were injured, but miraculously, nobody had been killed.

"So. How strong _are_ you?" Greyson asked as he walked back down the hill with Azure, Kita, and Twilight Crusade's weapons in tow.

"I'd say I'm not too bad," Alexandra humbly answered. "Really, most of it is the Crown Jewel. It's like a microphone, it amplifies my dust-using powers to this level. Without it, I'm... honestly pretty weak!"

"There is no need to be so humble," Kita argued. "You helped saved many lives today. There is no telling what would have happened to us and the others without you."

"Oh. I, uh... th-thanks..." Alexandra replied, her voice faltering until it was barely audible.

"Hey, before we celebrate?" Ember called. "Might want to deal with the bombs, or get our asses out of here." She held up her scroll. "Three minutes. Make a choice."

"W-We don't have enough time, we should leave..." Raven warned.

"Wait, I... I think we can pull this off," Greyson declared. He rubbed his forehead and looked to the ground, seemingly deep in thought. "I think it's my semblance, but I know where the bombs will explode. If we cover them in enough stone, we should be able to save the park, and everyone's stands. Everyone but Alexandra, go."

With varying levels of reluctance, the rest of Twilight Crusade left Greyson and Alexandra down the hill as they ran toward the parking lot.

"So, what's the plan again? You want me to cover the bombs?" Alexandra asked.

Greyson nodded. "Yeah. There are five, and the first will explode right here," he predicted, pointing to the third row in the amphitheater. "Try to get hard stone, if you can."

Alexandra raised her arm toward the bench in the third row, and sheets of stone began to cover it. In just a few seconds, the surrounding concrete had been melded into a protective dome over the predicted explosion site.

"Now where?" Alexandra happily inquired.

"Under that tree to our right. I don't think we can save the tree, but do what you can," Greyson urgently told. He and Alexandra ran off in the tree's direction, and covered the base in a four-foot thick dome of stone. The two then ran off to the vendors stands and picnic area, where they covered two more. Greyson looked at his scroll.

He swore.

"Less than a minute. The last one is... up by the food stands! Right in the middle! Let's go!" he commanded as he began to sprint up the hill. Alexandra followed.

Greyson pointed at the ground in the middle of the now-barren area of food stands. In the middle of the concrete was a single backpack. Inconspicuous enough in a crowd as a lost bag, but much more deadly.

Without a word, Alexandra raised her hands forward. The surrounding concrete piled on top of the bag as if it were freshly poured. Alexandra lowered her hands.

"So, how do we know if we were successful?" she asked, looking sideways up at Greyson.

A dull thump emanated throughout the park. Loud, but muffled.

Greyson smiled with relief. "I think that's how we know," he stated proudly. "Nicely done."

As Greyson and Alexandra walked to meet their friends in the parking lot, a procession of police cars and media vans poured in. The police cars formed a line at the edge of the lot, and the police stepped into the park.

"We're getting word that a group of huntsmen have come and diffused the situation!" A neatly-dressed news anchor reported as she ran toward Twilight Crusade with her camera crew. "I have some eyewitnesses here that were in the park at the time of the incident, what can you tell me about what happened?"

As Greyson promptly left to talk the incident over with police, the microphone was pointed in front of Alexandra's mouth, and a massive camera was shoved two feet from her face. She froze up, eyes going wide in the camera. She took off Crown Jewel, hiding it behind her back.

"Well, we were just watching a performance, and the microphone cut out," Alexandra recalled. "The Phantom hacked in, and there were grimm everywhere but my friends and I took care of it..."

"So, you're saying you were the ones who stopped the attack?" The reporter asked excitedly. The microphone was shoved so close to Alexandra's face that her lips nearly touched it.

"Yeah... look, I'm sorry, but I _really_ have to go," Alexandra hurriedly replied. She walked off in the direction of Twilight Crusade's airship, hiding Crown Jewel from the cameras. Confused, the rest of Twilight Crusade followed.

"Hey mom!" Rusty called to the cameras before going with the others.

Greyson provided an account to the police and went through further questioning for the next ten minutes. An unwanted, in-depth interview with the local news station followed. He was surprised to see the his friends gone after leaving, but after a call to Rusty he joined the others at his airship. Alexandra flopped onto a seat in exasperation, stretching her arms behind her head and letting out a sigh.

"Damn reporter kept me there a lot longer than I wanted, sorry," Greyson explained as he inserted his scroll into the airship's dash.

"You and me both, I guess," Alexandra replied.

"Yo," Dustyn called as he sat nearby. "What was the deal with the newslady back there, huh? You camera-shy?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Well, I'd like to keep Crown Jewel in hiding..." Alexandra said.

"But you wear it all the time. What do you mean?" Ezelia cut in.

"When I wear it, I can choose when to take it off," Alexandra reasoned. "I can't choose who watches the news, so I just have to be careful. I can't let anything happen to my Crown Jewel."

"There's nothin' else like it, huh?" Dustyn replied. "I can understand that."

"That's true, but there's more to it," Alexandra said. She sighed again."Crown Jewel is why the Inyan were killed. It's the reason why I've been alone all these years."

"Wait... _what?_ " Rusty questioned. "Why would you carry something like that around with you?"

"I should be more specific. Someone who was looking for Crown Jewel was the one who killed my tribe. I was the tribe leader's daughter. I knew almost nothing about dust-wielding at the time, but he entrusted Crown Jewel to me as his last wish," Alexandra explained. "The killer left the tent after my father said he didn't have the crown. I was hiding with Crown Jewel. With his last breath, my father told me to take it, and protect it at all costs."

"Th-That's horrible..." Raven commented.

Alexandra nodded. "It's... actually pretty scary. I'm weak without Crown Jewel, but it amplifies my strength to what you saw today. The one who wanted Crown Jewel had... _apocalyptic_ power. She froze _time itself._ It's terrifying to think what she would be like with her powers amplified."

"D-Do you remember what she looked like, a-at least?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. Clear as day. Black hair, pale white skin, icy blue eyes and this _wicked_ red smile," Alexandra recalled. "The image of her burning and freezing my tribe mates alive as she grinned from ear to ear has never left me. Something tells me. Someday, I'll see her again."

 **I guess I should confirm something now to avoid speculation. Alexandra is** _ **NOT**_ **a maiden. I wanna stay away from super-important canon stuff like that. And another note, Alexandra's backstory actually came to me in a dream. It was a pretty crazy nightmare.**


	22. V2: Embarrassment and Anticipation

**Note! This chapter has some, er... adult themes in it. If I felt like what happens in it is unnecessary to the development of one of my characters, I would have probably left a little tidbit out.**

 **Also! I've been really bad at uploading recently thanks to finals. But take a peek at my Deviant Art to see all the ideal voice actors for my series!**

Once again, October passed into November. Most days were blustery and cold with a shower or two of rain, in stark contrast to the unbearably hot Summer days of Vacuo. Orange and brown leaves danced through the streets on gusts of wind outside the Skye Cafe, and through the neighborhoods of Hajimaru.

The incident at the Harvest Festival brought about an important change for Twilight Crusade as the weeks passed. Their group became somewhat of a household name. The internet was abuzz with rumors about them, speculation about who exactly was on the team, and what they would do next. Several websites dedicated solely to Twilight Crusade popped up seemingly overnight, the result of some zealous fans with far too much time on their hands.

Ember and Greyson's father had left for their usual Thursday afternoon shifts at the Skye Cafe. Greyson's mother had gone off in search of a birthday present for her husband, leaving only Greyson, Azure, and Kita home. Kita sat on Greyson's back deck, bundled up but enjoying a rare sunny Autumn day. Since settling into Greyson's home, she picked up a hobby she had long since paused; painting. Though acrylic paint and canvas were far from the natural pigment and animal hide she had grown used to during her time with the Shrouded Fox, she adjusted. Kita painted the oak in Greyson's backyard against the blue sky, the leaves a brilliant shade of orange and the trunk a dark brown. Once satisfied with her work, she sat it face-up, then entered Greyson's house to find a snack.

After some careful snooping around the kitchen, Kita settled on an apple. Before taking a bite, she walked toward the bedrooms, intending to ask Greyson his permission to eat. Kita's steps fell silently on the carpeted stairs, and she approached Greyson's bedroom door, which sat open just a crack.

Kita poked her head into his room holding the apple out. Her innocent, inquisitive look shifted to one of shock and horror as her eyes adjusted to the scene.

Greyson lay shirtless on the bed, with Azure above him. Her upper body was covered only by her underclothes. Their waists and legs were obscured by blankets. Through widened, embarrassed eyes, Kita made eye contact with Greyson. Then, with Azure. The two had halted whatever they had been doing and stared at Kita. She knew in this moment the two felt exactly as she did.

Nobody dared speak.

"I... I am sorry! I am leaving!" Kita suddenly exclaimed. The apple forgotton, she left Greyson's house within seconds.

A maelstrom of emotions stormed through Kita's mind as she wandered the streets, searching for Rusty's house. _Shame._ She had barged in on what she knew to be a very intimate moment. _Embarrassment._ She stumbled into something she knew Greyson and Azure would rather she did not see. _Uncertainty._ How would this hurt their relationship? And last...

Jealousy.

The last emotion stung Kita worst. She knew to be jealous was wrong. Greyson and Azure were happily together long before she met them, and she knew she had no business feeling what she did for him. Still, the thoughts about taking Azure's place tore through Kita savagely. If Greyson and Azure had never met, Kita thought, just maybe she would get to experience how it felt to be in his arms. Even these thoughts of pure hypotheticals Kita knew to be dangerous.

Kita's mind had settled somewhat by the time she reached Rusty's house. Over an hour had passed since the incident in Greyson's house, and the swirling storm of emotions had hushed into a grey, blurry numbness.

"Huh? Kita?" Rusty questioned as he opened the door. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"No one is in danger," Kita responded. "I would like to speak with someone. Is Alexandra present?"

"Yeah. Go ahead and come in," Rusty welcomed. He walked over to the stairs and made it halfway up before he called to Alexandra.

"Huh, Kita's here?" she asked. Kita saw her head peak out carefully from a doorway. A smile drew across her lips. "Hey! I'll be down in a second!" she assured.

Minutes later, Alexandra and Kita sat in Rusty's front living room. Kita had wished for a space with more privacy, but was assured by the boisterous noises coming from upstairs that Rusty, Raven, Dustyn, and Ezelia were far too fixated on their video game tournament to spy on her and Alexandra.

"So, why'd you stop by? Greyson and Azure aren't with you?" Alexandra asked.

"No, they are not. They are actually why I walked over here," Kita began to explain, carefully choosing her words. "...I went to check if I could eat an apple, and they were... they were _together..._ "

Alexandra threw her head back. "Ha! You walked in on 'em doin' the dirty, or what? That's hilarious!" she replied boisterously.

"Not so loud!" Kita objected. "I do not know if they were doing... _that,_ but I know I walked into an intimate moment. It is not funny! I have told you what I feel for Greyson!"

Alexandra pursed her lips and slowly nodded once. "...Right, sorry..." she apologized.

"I should apologize to them. I am not a good person," Kita stated. "I love a man who is happily in love with another woman. Of course, I want them to be happy. But I cannot help feel a pang of envy whenever I see them together. It is sinful."

Alexandra sighed. "You can't control who you love, Kita," she said. "Trust me, _I know._ "What you can control is what you do about it. Your actions are what decide what kind of person you are."

Kita blinked, eyes widening a hair as she looked into Alexandra's. The dust wielder looked to the floor. "I suppose you may be correct," Kita responded. "What I must do is protect not only Greyson, but Azure as well. I pledge to protect her with my life, so that Greyson may be happy." A weak smile etched across her lips. One not born from happiness, but a mixture of defeated sorrow and resolve.

"That is what I must do."

Alexandra shook her head with a smile. "How can you _possibly_ think you're a bad person, Kita?" she asked.

"Perhaps I am not, but that is something I myself cannot judge," Kita responded. She perked up, cocking her head slightly. "This is not related, and I do not mean to pry, but what is it you seek in a man?"

"Huh!? Oh... right. In a guy," Alexandra awkwardly began her answer. "Well, I want someone strong, probably because I've been forced to be strong my whole life. I want a passionate person, who can really dedicate themself to a cause they think is worthy. Determination and faithfulness are good too." She chuckled. "Wow, I really have high standards, don't I?"

"Being selective is not a flaw," Kita assured. "I am sure you will find someone like that in time."

Alexandra let out a half-hearted laugh. "Yeah, I hope so..." she concluded. The two sat together and talked for the next half hour, then went upstairs to watch the others play video games. An hour after, Greyson and Azure showed up. All of Twilight Crusade's members hardly fit in Rusty's front living room. Greyson stood in front of the others, who either crowded in one of the two couches, sat on the floor, or stood around. Kita sat behind Alexandra, who leaned on one of the couches. She refused to make eye contact with Greyson or Azure.

"So, the purpose of this meeting is to decide our next course of action," Greyson declared. "But first, we need to talk about what's happening online. Everyone's talking about us after the incident at the Harvest Festival."

"Dude, we're basically celebrities!" Rusty exclaimed. "We're trending on three different sites, and there are even sites dedicated to us!"

"I-It's probably because of what's been happening recently," Raven reasoned. "F-First with the fall of Beacon, th-then all the Phantom's attacks... I-I think people want some kind of heroes."

"Ever stop to think we don't _want_ recognition?" Ember cut in bluntly.

"Why not?" Rusty asked innocently.

"I'm still a wanted criminal, Kita's a member of a tribe only rumored to exist, some time-freezing dust wielder is after Alex's weapon, Azure's supposed to be dead, and Vladimir, who is _from Mistral_ has it out for Greyson," Ember argued. "Revealing who we are would be suicide to the group."

"I'm going to have to agree with Ember," Greyson stated. "Plus. If we keep moving forward like this, we may end up making enemies. It's best they know as little about us as possible. Any questions?"

Greyson waited, but no hands went up.

"Alright, next point," Greyson said. He cleared his throat, and looked out above his friends confidently. "Our next course of action should be to bring down the Phantom."

Azure pulled back with surprise. "Hey, don't you think that will be _a little_ dangerous?" she asked nervously.

"How do we know where he'll hit next?" Dustyn inquired. "I mean, he started in Vacuo, then went to Mistral. It's fair to say an attack could happen anywhere..."

Greyson nodded. "It will be dangerous. _Extremely_ so," he acknowledged. "But it has to be done. Ideally, we bring him in for arrest, and let the law do whatever it does. And as for how we know where he'll strike next, we need a spy."

A murmur rose through the group for the next several seconds, then calmed. Raven shyly rose her hand, and Greyson called to her.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm the only faunus here, b-but d-don't think I'd make a very good spy..." she stated. "I'd be too nervous, th-they would find me out in no time."

"I won't make anyone do this who doesn't want to. Are there any volunteers?" Greyson asked.

"The Phantom has seen all of our faces, apart from two of us," Ember contemplated. "That leaves Kita and Alex."

Greyson paused, deeply considering Ember's words. He looked to Kita. "Kita. Would you be willing to spy on the White Fang for us? It would be dangerous, so I won't force you."

Greyson calling Kita's name struck her like a blow, drawing out an unanticipated wince. She looked to him nervously. Once again, the image of him below Azure cut into her mind.

"Yes, I accept," Kita pledged. "I will do what I must."


	23. V2: Undercover

Kita stared down the front of the massive, stone-grey warehouse. Officially, it had been abandoned on the edge of Downtown Mistral's slums years ago. A quick information-scouting mission told her otherwise. She knew the White Fang had been hiding in plain sight, in an area of the city even the police dared not enter.

Kita stepped into the warehouse, leaving the night outside for the darkness inside. She knew the faux-fox ears atop her head helped her easily pass for a faunus. A weeks' work had gone into making them move according to subtle movements in Kita's fingers. Yet still, as she walked in and saw the dozens of White Fang grunts before her, she could not help but feel the slightest apprehension creep into her mind.

"New recruit, huh?" A tall, stocky bull faunus grumbled at the entrance. He reached into his bag and produced a familiar half-face white mask, with two slits for each eye. "Stay to the left. And take one of these."

Kita bowed slightly as she took the mask. She thanked the man, and donned the final part of her disguise.

The crowd of White Fang grunts and recruits numbered about one hundred. Beyond them, a stage jutted out from the far wall, illuminated by three torches on either side. The wall behind it had been painted by a huge White Fang symbol, the red claw marks reaching almost from stage to ceiling.

A few last White Fang members trickled in before the meeting started. Kita watched as a man she had never seen before took the stage. Intimidatingly tall, and dressed in a fitted black suit with red accents near the bottom of his blazer. A chokuto, nearly as long as the blade Kita was forced to leave at home, was sheathed at his hip. His hair was red and flecked with brown, spiked toward the back of his head. The way the crowd roared as he strode to the middle of the stage let Kita know just how important the man was.

"Welcome to the meeting," the man greeted in a gravelly, deep voice. "By now, you all know of the unfortunate event that took place weeks ago. A _human_ huntsman murdered our leader, Sienna Khan, in cold blood."

This drew an uproar of jeers from the audience. Kita made a mental note, that this was probably important. " _Sienna Khan, their former leader, was killed. Transition period. White Fang likely seeking revenge,"_ she thought. She ran her thumb down her ring finger, causing her fox ears to draw backward.

"But we, the soldiers of the White Fang, will _not_ let this act go unpunished," the man onstage continued. "Every day, the day draws closer that we _force_ equality out of humans. I, Adam Taurus, will _personally_ see to it, that _every_ human comes to bow to us. That is what we, as faunus, deserve!"

The crowd cheered in chauvinistic agreement. Kita added her own cheer, to make sure she blended in. " _White Fang definitely seeking revenge,_ " Kita thought.

"Now, I give the stage to my newest commander, the one aiding us in spreading fear in the hearts of the human race," Adam passionately stated. "Come out, 'Phantom."

Kita suppressed her surprise as a familiar hooded figure stepped to the stage. His appearance caused a mixed reaction from the crowd. Some cheered for him. Others booed, shouted.

"Spreading fear!?" One faunus shouted. "Are you trying to make us laugh? Has he _ever_ had a successful hit!?"

"Kill Twilight Crusade already! What are you doing?" another advised furiously.

" _Targets. We must be careful,_ " Kita noted to herself.

"Do you remember the Church of Awakening?" A woman shouted. "He blew it to the ground! What about the Schnee dust heist?"

"Shut it! You're part of his little group!" the first man retorted.

"Yes, thank you for the warm welcome," the Phantom began in his distorted, unnatural, robotic voice. "The Phantom Squad is planning another attack on the night of Saturday, November 11th." A holographic map of Mistral projected into the air behind him, and zoomed to an area near the coast, North of Downtown a few miles. A blue dot appeared on the map. "The target is the new Schnee Dust company quarry. They want to build a massive drilling rig. _We_ want to blow it down. Any questions?"

" _Night of the 11th. Schnee Dust construction project,_ " Kita burned into her mind.

"Yeah. Are you planning to be stopped by those kids again!?" an angry man with the horns of a stag near Kita questioned.

"I see no reason for them to be at the Schnee Dust project," the Phantom said. "In the past, we have been stopped purely as a matter of bad luck. As the hit on the bastards from the Church of Awakening, and the heist of Schnee dust cargo shows, we are successful when they don't interfere. Anything else?"

As the last few questions were answered, Adam Taurus once again took the stage. Kita closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again, using her semblance. A soft red glow coated the Phantom's lower legs. His eyes glowed softly red. Kita shifted her gaze to the man next to him, the tall one who appeared to be some form of de facto leader for the White Fang. Red outlined his body from the neck down. A surprise attack from behind would be most effective, Kita thought. But not now. Not when surrounded by dozens of White Fang militants. Not before the Phantom had been brought to justice.

"The impending attack on Haven Academy will be discussed in detail next meeting. With that, our meeting is over," Adam Taurus concluded. He raised one fist into the air, holding his sheathed sword with the other. "Glory to the White Fang!" he shouted.

" _ **GLORY TO THE WHITE FANG!**_ " the crowd cheered in a chorus.

" _...Impending attack, on another Academy?_ " Kita reflected. " _I must warn the others. The fall of Beacon must not repeat itself!_ "

The crowd dispersed into a confusing mass of masked faunus. Kita stayed back a bit, careful to not get her fake ears jostled off in the horde. She felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned her head and gave a sidelong glance through the slits in the mask. She froze.

The owner of the hand was the Phantom.

"You, new recruit," the Phantom called. "What's your name?"

Kita turned to face the Phantom, and the two stood an arm's length apart. She never expected to be so close to Twilight Crusade's most powerful enemy. At least, not without Kenakuma drawn. He was shorter than her, and under his cloak he wore the basic White Fang uniform. Two belts crossed his waist, each holding twenty bullets of two different sizes. Even at this distance, seeing the Phantom's face beneath the hood and mask was an impossibility.

Kita tapped her thumb to the tip of her ring finger, and her fox ears perked up. "My name is Kuroka Kitsuhara, I am a fox faunus from the countryside," she greeted, attempting to conceal her accent and nodding respectfully. "It was an honor to hear you speak today, sir. I hope I can be of service to the White Fang's cause."

The Phantom stared at her, and she feared she had already been found out. With Kenakuma at her side, Kita believed in the possibility of taking down the Phantom. Weaponless, in a horde of White Fang soldiers, she knew she may as well surrender.

"...Very well," the Phantom finally responded. Without another word, he walked off.

Kita made sure she was not followed as she made her way back to Greyson's car. The night had darkened further since entering the meeting, but she found the car quickly. Greyson and Azure sat in front, and welcomed Kita back as she climbed into the backseat. The image of the two together was still fresh in Kita's mind, and the only saving grace preventing the ride from being unbearably uncomfortable was Alexandra. The two talked much of the way back to Greyson's house, where Twilight Crusade was gathered around his living room.

Kita reported on everything important she remembered from the White Fang meeting. From the murder of the White Fang leader, to Adam's appearance, to the Phantom's plans for his next hit, Kita left out no important details. She concluded with perhaps the most troubling news of all. That the White Fang had a second attack planned. One which may mirror the attack that changed the lives of Twilight Crusade forever.

Greyson sighed, holding back his shock and fear at the possibility of a second attack. The thought had weighed on his mind since the fall of Beacon, yet he tried his best to hold it back. "I'll have to think about the attack on Haven. If this is anything like what happened to Beacon, we may be in over our heads," Greyson strategized. It sounds like we're targets, so it would be best to make a preemptive strike before the Phantom can get to us. Thank you, Kita. Because of you, the night of November 11th will be the last night of this reign of terror."

 **Note: I think of the Phantom's voice as somewhere between Reaper from Overwatch and Kylo Ren from Star Wars.**


	24. V2: November 11th

Twilight Crusade gathered at the Schnee Dust Company's construction site described by the Phantom at eight, a few hours after the last construction workers had gone home. The sun had set around the same time the workers left, but the construction site was still well lit by the lights of the several cranes above.

The cranes surrounded three mechanical spires, each set about a quarter of a mile apart. Though only half constructed, the crosses of metal beams reached at least a hundred feet into the night sky. Between the rigs, barrels, shipping containers, left-behind construction equipment, and a few square pits littered the ground. A partially constructed high-rise accompanied each rig, along with an additional one between the furthest two, transforming the entire premises into a concrete, wood, and metal maze.

"Alright, everyone. Though I hate to split us up, it's best we break into teams of three," Greyson analyzed. He had parked the airship in a forest some distance away, and the nine teens walked to the gated entrance. "Team one is Ezelia, Dustyn, and Raven. Team two is me, Kita, and Rusty. Team three will be Ember, Alexandra, and Azure. Each of the teams will watch over one of the rigs, but stay in hiding. If one of you should encounter the Phantom, _do not_ engage him alone. Even three of us is risky."

With his word, the teams gathered and split up. Team one gathered around the closest rig, and the other two teams took the faraway rigs. Then, they waited. Hours passed absently, spent observing the forests, sky, and ocean surrounding the site. Dustyn, Raven, and Ezelia sat together just outside the half-constructed building of their designated site. They grew bored as hours passed, but still relieved they had not encountered the Phantom.

"I kinda wish Pierce was here, you know?" Ezelia suddenly stated. She turned her head to Raven and Dustyn. "Think he could beat the Phantom?"

Raven cocked her head in thought. "I-I'm not sure. I guess I never saw him lose..."

"We'd at least have a chance against this Phantom guy if we had him on our side..." Ezelia responded. "You saw him during the tournament. The only one who actually hit him was Greyson!"

"Dude was pretty scary. An asshole too, sometimes. But I miss him," Dustyn reminisced.

"H-He wasn't all that bad," Raven said. "He w-wasn't friendly, a-and I guess he was pretty scary, but I've known worse people."

"I can't imagine what it's like to be a faunus," Dustyn sympathized. "I mean, people used to bully Ezelia because she's a weirdo, but there are _laws_ against faunus in some places. That's screwed up."

"Hey! You called me weird!" Ezelia protested. "You're weird!"

"You killed a beowolf yesterday and chased me with its arm until it disintegrated," Dustyn retorted. "Isn't that just a _little_ weird, Raven?"

Raven focused on the sky to the South, directly past the front gate. Three lights, arranged into a triangle, had broken through the clouds and lowered as they approached the construction project. The center light, also the largest, glowed bright white. The other two were a deep red.

"Hide," Raven suddenly commanded. She ducked behind a thick beam on the first floor of the high-rise. Confused, Dustyn and Ezelia found spots nearby. Raven listened intently, and heard the airship's engine grow louder before halting completely. It had stopped inside the gate, about thirty feet from where Raven hid. Her heart pounded as she pulled out her scroll.

"What is it? I thought I heard an engine, did you see anything?" Greyson answered.

"Y-Yeah. They've landed, a-and they're nearby," Raven quietly reported. "G-Get ready."

"I'll tell the others. You guys lay low for now," Greyson ordered. He hung up.

Raven listened in again. Voices. One woman, at least. Several men. The only words Raven heard clearly came from the most distinct voice of the group, the one she had hoped deep down she would never hear. The Phantom.

"Delta is assuming control of the security and lighting systems. Beta. Take theta through lambda to site two," the Phantom ordered. "Gamma. You're in charge of Epsilon through Eta. Take your team to site one. I'll cover site three alone."

"I'll be fine, Gamma. Now let's go," the Phantom concluded after an inaudible protest by the woman's voice. A group of footsteps walked to the left of Dustyn, Raven, and Ezelia. Raven did not hear the Phantom's steps. A team of four footsteps walked to the base of the drilling rig, and Raven heard something heavy drop onto the metal with a clang.

"Alright! Wires, wires... Aw geez, I wasn't in charge of planting this thing last time," a female voice complained.

Raven let out a deep breath and stood up, revealing herself to the White Fang. She raised her crossbow at the female grunt. Dustyn and Ezelia both followed suit with weapons drawn.

"S-S-Stand down! W-We won't let you do this!" Raven protested, voice uncharacteristically loud, but quivering.

"What!? What are they doing here!?" the female grunt, who Raven identified by the orange lock of hair rebelliously peeking out from her hood as gamma, exclaimed. "Take care of them!"

Dustyn parried a cutlass attack from a lunging White Fang grunt with the shaft of Boomstick, and responded with a sound whack to the grunt's face. Dustyn spun his weapon again as he spun in a circle, winding up a sizable blow to the falling grunt's back. He spun Boomstick again as it transformed into a rifle, and he shot next to the White Fang grunt whose cutlass was locked with Ezelia's Grimm Cat. Dustyn pounced onto his incapacitated foe, holding his hands behind his back.

The second grunt was distracted long enough by the blast for Ezelia to free Grimm Cat. She struck twice, the sheer weight of her colossal steel weapon being enough to disarm her opponent. She swung Grimm Cat around, bringing the broad side down on the grunt's head. He was knocked out cold.

"Y-You're down to two. Surrender, th-there's no way for you to win!" Raven tried to persuade. "W-We've talked before. I know you aren't a-a bad person! You can change, a-and fight for good!"

"Don't give me that self-righteous crap!" Gamma retorted. "Humans are nothing but murderers and scumbags! They've oppressed faunus for as long as both races have existed!"

The grunt next to Gamma opened fire on Raven with his dust rifle as Gamma pounced at Dustyn. Raven charged forward, taking the hail of bullets into her shield. Raven slammed into the grunt and knocked his weapon to the floor. Two xiphos slashes and a shield strike left the grunt in a slump over a nearby pile of wood.

Raven turned her head, and transformed her xiphos into a crossbow. She fired a bolt of electric dust at Gamma, who was proving to be a worthier opponent than her crew.

"Faunus! _Stay out of this!"_ Gamma toxically shouted.

"That's my teammate! My friend! I won't let you hurt him!" Raven argued. She ran toward Gamma, who jumped high into the air and came down behind her. Raven spun, and her xiphos collided with Gamma's tonfa blades. Another pair of attacks was blocked by Gamma, and Raven blocked three of her opponent's strikes with her sword and shield. Gamma dodged to the side as Ezelia brought the blunt side of her weapon down over her shoulder. Gamma kicked Ezelia in the stomach, sending her back into a metal railing.

With a wicked grin below her mask, Gamma clicked her tonfas together. The metal folded in several places until taking the form of a shotgun, which she pointed at the staggering Ezelia. As she pulled the trigger, Raven lunged forward with her shield, and swung it brutally into Gamma's arm and head as she blocked the blast.

"I-I wish I didn't have to hurt you..." Raven said, looking over the dazed White Fang grunt at her feet.

"Whatever..." Gamma weakly protested. She reached for her gun, but Raven kicked it away. "You're misled. I'm sure Boss will set you straight. _All_ of you."

"T-Team one, success," Raven reported to Greyson. He, Rusty, and Kita had similar luck on their end. Three White Fang grunts were knocked out. Rusty had two others tied to a beam with Child's Play. "B-But! I think the Phantom is coming for team three! Y-You should warn them!"

Greyson felt a stab of fear. The Phantom was headed directly for Ember, Azure, and Alexandra. He tried his best to compose himself, and even out his voice. "Thanks. I'll let them know." Without another word, he hung up. He called Ember, knowing her to be the only owner of a working scroll in the group.

"What's up? Everything fine on your end?" Ember asked.

"Yeah, we have the White Fang under control. Have you seen anything?" Greyson asked in reply.

"No, not a thing. It's pretty damn quiet here," Ember responded.

"Hopefully it stays that way," Greyson said. "Raven just called. She said she thinks the Phantom is coming your way. I'll head over, but be careful until then."

"Right. Careful on your way over," Ember concluded. She hung up.

Greyson turned to Rusty and Kita. "You two, stay here," he ordered. "I'm heading over to Azure and the others." He looked to the White Fang grunts, then to the particularly tall one still struggling against the cords binding him to the pillar. "Kita. I trust you to handle things if they get unruly."

"If Boss finds 'em, they're dead!" the tall grunt taunted. He chuckled. "Maybe he'll find you instead, who knows?"

"Kita," Greyson simply ordered. Without another word, Kita raised her living blade dangerously close to the grunt's throat.

Greyson walked around the side of the partially-made drilling rig, and began to make his way hastily to the site occupied by Azure, Ember, and Alexandra. He walked between what looked to be the beginnings of a tall office building to his left, and a line of shipping containers to his right, which cast an ominous shadow across the concrete path ahead. He pressed on urgently, knowing any moment the Phantom would appear to his friends.

Suddenly, Greyson halted with curious surprise as he heard a metal clink on the corner of one of the shipping containers just ahead. A line had fastened itself, and Greyson heard the sound of cord being retracted. His surprise turned to pure terror as the shape of a human flew across his view, then disappeared.

In front of Greyson, the Phantom coalesced, as if from shadows. He stood face to face with Twilight Crusade's most dangerous enemy. Completely alone.


	25. V2: From Shadows

**Note again: Greyson always keeps Blitz in his left hand, and Nimbus in his right. They're mostly identical, though. Also, "Deadly Work," From the Darker than Black soundtrack fits this chapter :)**

"I thought I told you to stay out of our way," the Phantom growled. His hands slid toward the sides of his waist, reaching for the weapons holstered.

" _No._ I'm not just going to step aside and let you tear Remnant to pieces!" Greyson challenged. He pulled Blitz and Nimbus from their sheaths on his back, the scraping noise echoing throughout the otherwise silent construction site. "Your little reign of terror ends _now,_ Phantom."

Greyson stood still, watching the Phantom's tiniest movements. Pierce's combat training from back in Winter and Spring echoed through his head. _Never make the first move._

"Well? I'm waiting," the Phantom taunted. His hands had grasped the handles of his weapons, but never moved. "You're not pissing yourself _now_ , are you?"

Greyson compromised between Pierce's lessons and the Phantom's taunts with a blast from Nimbus. In the time it took for Greyson to raise his weapon and fire, the Phantom had disappeared. Greyson predicted the path of a blade coming down on the right side of his neck, and blocked behind his back with Nimbus. He looked over his shoulder, into the slits in the Phantom's mask.

"Careful. You could kill someone with those things," the Phantom provoked.

With only a labored grunt as response, Greyson pushed upward with Blitz, and spun as he slashed with Nimbus. His attack was parried by two blades, and he responded with a shotgun blast. Once again, the Phantom disappeared. Greyson closed his eyes, predicting the Phantom's path behind him. He shot again. His opponent ducked to the side and dashed past Greyson, slashing once at his side as he passed. Greyson slashed with Blitz, and the Phantom blocked the attack with the blade in his left hand. He twisted his wrist as Greyson attacked with Nimbus, and held both attacks off with one blade. Using his second weapon, the Phantom shot several times into Greyson's stomach with an automatic pistol. Luckily, his aura barrier held up. Greyson kicked the Phantom backward, lunged toward him, and stopped, predicting he would disappear again. Greyson heard his opponent land behind him, and turned to face the Phantom again. The two stood further apart than before.

"You done yet?" the Phantom asked. "Keep up like this, and you won't be leaving here tonight."

"I'm not leaving until we bring you in," Greyson argued. He glanced about thirty feet above the Phantom's head, where a bundle of steel beams was suspended by a single cord. Greyson raised Nimbus in shotgun form. "This is your last chance to come quietly."

"I refuse."

Greyson transformed Nimbus into its sword form, and flung it at the cord. It spun like a flying disc before handily severing the cord, bringing thousands of pounds of steel toward the ground. Greyson sprinted forward, knocking the Phantom to the ground before lunging again to escape the ear-shattering cacophony of the beams cascading to the concrete. Greyson caught Nimbus, and looked behind himself proudly. His eyes went wide with shock. The Phantom stood atop the beams unscathed.

"So that's what you meant by the last chance to come quietly, huh?" the Phantom called. "We faunus have sensitive ears, you know."

Greyson grit his teeth in annoyance. "For a feared terrorist like you, you're pretty damn obnoxious," he growled.

"At least you don't have to hear me much longer. I'll be going now," the Phantom said. He raised one blade toward a beam on the edge of the half-constructed high rise now to his right. With the sound of a cord being retracted, he flew into the building.

"Like hell you are! Get back here and fight me!" Greyson yelled after him. He looked around, and spotted a lift nearby. He fiddled with the control panel for a few seconds, but quickly noticed it required a key. Improvising, he slashed the counterweight cord, and hopped on as the lift tore into the sky. Within seconds, the lift reached the top of the building.

The Phantom stood on the beam in front of the lift. As Greyson reached the top floor, his foe sprung forward, grabbed Greyson's head, and slammed it into the wooden wall of the left twice. He let Greyson drop to the floor before kicking him across the cheek.

Greyson's head spun, vision going blurry. The Phantom had stepped back onto the metal beam, and stood watching him. Greyson felt he would be sick from the throbbing pain in his head, but staggered to his feet.

"You've lost. You're persistent, annoyingly so. But there's nothing more you can do," the Phantom said.

Greyson spit a ball of blood onto the floor, and wiped his mouth, angrily looking at the opponent before him. He kept Blitz and Nimbus in his hands, and stepped onto the beam in front of him with shaky steps. A gust of wind blew through the site, nearly knocking Greyson eighty feet to the concrete below.

"What, do you have a deathwish or something?" the Phantom questioned. "You never know when heroism crosses into idiocy, do you!?"

Greyson's answer was a haphazard slash, which was easily blocked. While carefully maintaining his footing on the thin metal beam, he and the Phantom evenly exchanged blocks, parries, and dodges for the next several seconds. Each hit rang out noisily through the night.

Greyson dropped onto the beam as the Phantom attacked with a particularly powerful swipe. He spun, Nimbus making heavy contact with the Phantom's ankle. Greyson's foe grunted. In his momentary distraction, he did not see Greyson spring up with a jumping kick to the side of his face.

Arms trailing up toward the sky, the Phantom fell toward a square pit, about twelve feet deep. Before Greyson knew the Phantom would hit the ground, the lights on the crane above him were shot out. Greyson was cloaked in darkness, and pelted by a hail of glass.

Greyson sighed. The pain in his head had not quite subsided, but he was alive. He had wished to bring the Phantom to the police in the same state, but knew surviving such a fall, between the eight stories of construction and twelve foot deep pit, would be a miracle. Carefully, he made his way down to the ground floor. He used his scroll for light, scanning the hole he knew the Phantom had fallen toward. He saw nothing, but formed a group call with Rusty and Ember.

"This is Greyson," Greyson said. He took a deep breath. "I beat the Phantom. He fell, and I'm looking for a bod-"

The sound of a metal cord retracting cut through Rusty and Ember's scrolls. Then, the clatter of scroll hitting concrete.

Two boots collided with Greyson's chest, and he flew backward before smashing into the concrete floor of the pit. Grey sparks fizzled around him as his aura fully depleted. He was unarmed, and the still-living Phantom dashed toward him with sword drawn, far faster than he could react.

He felt the handle plunge into the pit of his stomach.

Perhaps the Phantom was right. No. Greyson _knew_ the Phantom was right. He was an idiot for challenging the Phantom alone. Now, he would die by his hands. His sword was stuck through Greyson's gut, and all there was left to do was lose. Painfully.

But, where _was_ that pain?

Greyson looked down as he hunched over, and saw the Phantom's blade had been folded backward, away from Greyson's body.

"Act. Dead."

"Wh-What?" Greyson questioned, in a near complete state of shock.

"When the lights all go out, you can move again." Without another word, the Phantom pulled his weapon from Greyson's stomach and let him drop limply to the ground.

Kita ran up to the edge of the pit just in time to see the hooded figure pull back his blade, and watch Greyson fall.

" _ **NOOOOOOO!**_ " Kita yelled, with a terrifyingly potent mixture of rage and anguish. The Phantom looked up to where Kita stood.

"Oh, _shit._ "

Within what seemed like a second, Kita had charged in on the Phantom. She missed the first vicious cleave over her left shoulder as the Phantom dodged to the left. Without completing the attack, she reversed too quickly for the average eye to see, and jabbed furiously at the Phantom, making contact with his chest. He grunted, disappearing again and reappearing over Kita's right shoulder. Before he landed on the ground, Kita tore across his chest with Kenakuma, piercing his aura. The Phantom disappeared again. In the blink of an eye, Kita turned on her heel, and brought the tip of her blade down across the right side of the Phantom's face.

The Phantom shouted in pain, voice sounding human as the two halves of his mask fell to the floor with a spatter of blood. He hunched over, covering his face and facing away from Kita as blood ran down his arm. He blinked to the wall of the edge of the pit, and grappled to the top.

"Coward! Return and fight me!" Kita yelled. She pulled three shuriken from her belt, and flung them toward the Phantom. One lodged in his shoulder as he escaped.

Kita's shoulders sunk. She finally turned to face Greyson. She untied her mask, and set it on the ground near where he lay. Her face was soaked with tears.

"I... have failed in protecting you. And, I have failed in avenging your death," Kita solemnly reflected. Both hands held Kenakuma in front of her body, blade facing to the ground. She raised her blade, and her hands began to tremble. She pointed the tip to her stomach.

"And so, I must die a failure."

" _...Kita!"_ Greyson hissed. She paused and looked down to Greyson. He opened one eye, and looked at her. Her face lit up with relief as she practically dove to kneel by his side.

"Greyson! You are alive!" Kita cheered.

"Yeah, but not so loud..." Greyson said. "When the lights turn off, we'll both get out of here."

As if called, every light in the construction zone shut off simultaneously. Greyson worked his way to his feet. Kita stepped forward with a sudden surge of confidence and emotion, then hugged him tightly.

"Is everything okay!?" Azure's voice called. She, Ember, and Alexandra reached the edge of the pit, Ember shining her light down toward Greyson and Kita. Azure paused, watching the two hug with an indecipherable, blank, look on her face.

Kita and Greyson separated, then made their way to the rest. He hugged Azure when he made it back, but her arms limply wrapped around his back, then fell again.

"You're safe too?" Alexandra asked Kita, tenderly placing a hand on her shoulder. "That blood isn't yours, right?"

"No, that is from the Phantom," Kita answered.

"I fought him, but he's on a whole different level than I am..." Greyson commented.

"You fought him alone?" Azure questioned, the slightest hint of irritation in her voice.

"Yeah, we ended up face to face," Greyson responded.

"Oh. I thought I remember you saying not to do that, but at least you're alive," Azure replied. "Looks like Kita took care of you, right?"

"Yes, I fought the Phantom," Kita replied, completely unaware of Azure's building irritation. She turned to Greyson. "Please, forgive me. I lost my composure when I thought you had passed on."

"...Lovely," Azure rigidly concluded.

Greyson paused for a few seconds. He knew when Azure was angry, and this was one one of those times. Nothing to say came to mind, nothing that would gently assuage Azure's current distrust of Kita, and nothing that would dispel the irritation she felt for him once again charging into danger alone. His scroll began to ring, and he picked up.

"Uh, dude? Bad news over here," Rusty's voice stated. "That skunk guy was one of our grunts, and right after Kita left he ripped one. I just woke up, and the White Fang are gone..."

Greyson saw Raven was calling, and added her to the call. "I-I'm sorry, m-more White Fang m-members came... w-we're all okay, but... they got away," Raven shakily reported.

"As long as you're okay, everything's fine. We're coming your way," Greyson replied. "...I think this mission is our first failure."


	26. V2: Tumbling Down

**...aaand Twilight Crusade is Rated M. Initially because of the dark themes and descriptions of violence that will be present, but I think I'll start using, er,** _ **colorful**_ **language a bit more now as well. Not a ton.**

Greyson walked forward. The only sounds in the maddening silence were two sets of feet tapping on the marble walkway. He saw nothing apart from the ground in front of him, but felt he was in a narrow corridor. The walls of darkness felt close on each side of him, nearly brushing his shoulders as he walked. Yet, he could stretch his arms out fully to each side. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Azure following him. A vacant expression filled her eyes as if she was a reanimated corpse, eyes held open by some invisible presence.

Two thin arms of shadow leapt at Greyson from ahead, visible only by their faint red outline. Greyson furiously tore them aside, and four more took their place. Greyson fought them off as well, before four words echoed out from in back of him. From Azure's voice, but lacking the usual vivacity. The words were hollow, cold.

" _I don't need you._ "

Greyson turned around to face Azure. Two arms each had wrapped around her neck, arms, and legs. He watched in horror, feeling he would throw up as her body was torn apart in front of his eyes. He tried desperately to turn away, to shut his eyes. But invisible hands forced his head forward, and his eyes open. They forced him to watch Azure's flesh pulled apart slowly. Blood gurgled from the wounds, cascading to the floor. Lumps rose in her blood until hardening into hundreds of half-inch gemstones.

Azure's body faded into the darkness.

Greyson shot upright in bed, the covers flying off of his chest and landing in disarray at his waist. He looked to the darkness at his feet, then to Azure. She slept on the floor next to his bed. Two words entered his mind as his breathing evened out.

" _Not again._ "

Azure stirred. She rubbed her eyes and looked up to Greyson with a tried, cross, look on her face. "Why are you awake?" she questioned.

"Well, I _was_ sleeping..." Greyson began to explain. The image of of Azure's body being torn into pieces cut back into his mind. He shivered.

"But you had a nightmare, and you weren't planning on telling me, right?" Azure guessed sharply. Greyson started with surprise, stinging eyes going wide.

"Whatever. Go back to sleep," Azure grumbled. She rolled over, shifted, and was silent.

Greyson lay in bed awake for the rest of the night. Not only did the nightmare keep him up, but Azure as well. Since the fight against the Phantom one week earlier, she had become cold. When he would go in for a hug, her arms would hang limply at her sides. Kisses were refused. Never before had Greyson seen Azure act this way. Their arguments were usually resolved within the day they arose, and never left Greyson with the sinking feeling of despair throughout his body.

He knew he had to say something. But what? And how?

The day was the day of another White Fang meeting, but as much as Greyson wanted to know what state the Phantom was in, and what the plans were regarding the impending attack on Mistral, he decided Kita would stay home. She was the one who left the Phantom injured. Though her masked face would be hard to identify, Greyson refused to put her in harm's way.

Azure sat in Greyson's living room, with Ember reading a book at the other end of the same couch. Greyson had just showered, and walked downstairs with still-damp hair and excited look on his face. "Guess what today is, guys?" he called.

Greyson was met by a halfhearted grunt from both girls.

"It's upgrade day," he excitedly said. "Remember back in the Vytal Tournament, when everyone was excited to watch me fight with Blitz and Nimbus? It was a little embarrassing because I couldn't actually use lightning dust, but I finally have enough lien from working to safely afford an upgrade!"

"So, now you'll be better at charging off alone?" Azure accused. He words hit Greyson like a cold dagger. No excitement, only irritation.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'll be more careful from now on," Greyson pledged. "Anyone want to come with me?"

"No. No thank you."

Despite Azure's disdain toward Greyson upgrading Blitz and Nimbus, Greyson still drove to the local weaponsmith, who he had been several times for maintenance throughout his time at Sanctum. He was an older

man, who apparently had been a skilled huntsman back in his prime. For the past thirty years he had worked out of the same shop, selling dust, weapons, parts, and performing upgrades and maintenance. He was a favorite among the students of Sanctum and Haven. The price for Greyson's upgrade was high, but he was prepared. The upgrade work took several hours, but just before sunset the weaponsmith had finished. Greyson took Blitz and Nimbus to the man's shooting range to test his upgrades.

"Careful. It _should_ shoot straight, but it may need some adjustment," the craftsman warned in his gruff voice. "Hold that new button on the side when you pull the shotgun trigger to shoot a bolt of lighting too. You can also charge the blade in sword form." He grinned. "Go on, try it!"

Greyson raised Nimbus in front of him, and carefully clicked the new button built into his handle, in the groove his thumb naturally slid into. Greyson smiled as the slightest electric whir filled the air. Greyson sheathed Nimbus, then raised Blitz toward the target dummy. His weapon unfolded into a shotgun. When Greyson pulled the trigger, a thick bolt of white lightning vaporized much of the dummy's torso, filling the air with a thunderous crack and the scent of burning rubber.

Satisfied, Greyson returned home.

"Oh, hey Ember," Greyson greeted as he walked in the door. He looked around. No one else seemed to be home. Ember had been too involved in her book to turn on a light, instead choosing to squint, making out the last words she could in the waning evening light. "...Where is everyone?"

"Azure went on a run. Your dad's still at work, and your mom took your sister out shopping," Ember replied. She slid her bookmark into place, and closed the book. "I'm not sure where Kita is. She has a habit of disappearing."

"Well, that's fine. There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about. In private, preferably," Greyson began.

"Is it about Azure?" Ember guessed. "You two haven't been the same lately."

Greyson sighed. "No, it's not about that. But I think I'll talk to her tonight too," he said. He looked Ember in the eyes firmly. "It's about the Phantom."

"Well, what is it then?" Ember asked.

"I... I think the Phantom might be Pierce."

Ember paused, eyes widening slightly. She regained her usual air of cool indifference on the surface, but her words came with surprising sincerity. "...I haven't ruled that out as a possibility," she admitted. "He said he wanted to fight the White Fang's leader, and insisted he do it alone. As stupid as this sounds, I didn't _want_ to believe."

Greyson shook his head. "It's not stupid," he assured. "But, the Phantom spared me. And he spared you back when we stole the airship. Back at the Great Canyon Dam, he didn't kill us on sight. It's like he doesn't want us dead."

"He was short, too... not much taller than me," Ember recalled. She perked up, face carrying a look of curiosity. "How did fighting the Phantom feel?" she asked. "You fought Pierce back in the tournament, right? How did he compare?"

"That's another thing. It felt just like fighting Pierce. The Phantom just... disappears and reappears. And he flies around with grappling hooks," Greyson answered. "When we stood face-to-face, I saw two belts of ammo. The bullets on one belt were lower caliber."

"Two kinds of guns then, huh?" Ember deduced. A pained expression came to her face. "If that's him... Why did the bastard turn against us? And why in the hell did he blow up a church?"

"Something tells me we'll find out soon," Greyson concluded.

Greyson heard keys enter the deadbolt, and the door opened to show Azure. She paused upon seeing Greyson and Ember sitting together on the couch, but turned away and walked upstairs. Greyson happily called to her, but she continued out of his sight.

It took Greyson almost half an hour to finally work up the nerve to speak with Azure, but ultimately he felt to talk to her with the least amount of others present would be best. So, as Azure took her shower, Greyson waited in his room, where he knew she always went to brush her hair and put on makeup. When she entered the room, Greyson was not greeted with the usual smile and hug. Instead, a cold stare and a sigh.

"Azure," Greyson said. "I know something's wrong. Whatever it is, I want you to tell me?"

"Oh, sorry. I was under the impression not telling things was normal in this relationship," Azure coldly responded. She picked up her brush and turned to walk out the door.

"Please. I want to know what's wrong, so we can fix whatever it is," Greyson insisted.

Azure stopped, and turned back to him. "You've been having nightmares again, and you're not telling me," she asserted. "I don't know why you do this. You never tell me when things aren't going well. And you always throw yourself into danger you have no business throwing yourself into! Even when you _specifically_ tell us not to do it."

"I'm sorry, it's just-"

"You want to protect me, right?" Azure continued, voice rising to an edge. "Because you don't think I'm strong enough to fight for myself."

"No, that's not..." Greyson began. A glare cut him off. He never thought of Azure as weak. But still, that was what made him act how he did. What made him be reckless. He felt he was stronger, and did not wish to put Azure in harm's way.

"That's probably why you've been getting along so well with Kita lately, right?" Azure accused. "You feel like she's someone you can fight together with, not someone weak you have to protect!? Don't think I didn't see you two hugging after you charged in like an idiot to fight the Phantom!"

"I don't think about Kita like that!"

"She thinks about _you_ like that. She's _obsessed_ with you, and you're doing nothing to let her know you're not interested!"

"Also, the Phantom came after me. I was on my way to-"

"Protect me?" Azure cut in.

"Look, all I want is for you to be safe! Is that so bad?" Greyson questioned, voice rising to match Azure's. "If I hadn't saved your life back in initiation, you'd be dead. Sometimes you should consider that. And sometimes I wish I'd left you there."

The last words left Greyson's mouth before his mind caught up. He tried to stop them as they came, and wished he could take them back once they left. He knew the damage was done. Azure's aggravated frown faded as her eyes widened in disbelief. Her lower lip began to quiver, and her eyes watered. She whipped around, leaving the room without another word.

Tears rolling down her cheeks, Azure grabbed her scroll, and walked out into the night. For the first time since the Fall of Beacon, she turned it on. She flicked away the countless messages and social media notifications accumulated over Summer and into Autumn, and called Raven.

"Uh, A-Azure?" Raven answered.

"Yeah, it's me..." Azure responded, voice cracking.

"Wh-What's wrong? A-And you shouldn't b-be using your scroll! P-People will find you!" Raven warned.

"I want to talk to you... in person," Azure stated, ignoring the warning completely. "...Greyson and I got in a fight."

"O-Oh, I'm sorry..." Raven offered. "I-I'll come over. B-But turn off your scroll!"

Meanwhile, Greyson had not moved from where he sat. His elbows rested on his knees, and he held his head in his hands. As he raised his scroll to the side of his head to call Rusty, his limp fingers nearly dropped the device to the floor.

"Yo! What's up dude?" Rusty excitedly called from the other end.

"Hey, could you come over here? I want to talk..." Greyson asked, regret and sadness audible in his words.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a bit," Rusty said. He paused for a few seconds. "And I guess Raven will too? Did something happen?"

"... _I fucked up._ "


	27. V2: Phantom Church

Azure's head hung below her knees as she sat on the steps to Greyson's porch, completely ignoring the rain soaking through her clothing. She watched the tears fall, joining the raindrops with every lurch of her body. Raven softly placed her hand on Azure's back and rubbed, unsure of what to say. Rusty had stepped inside to speak with Greyson alone.

"I-I... um... h-how about we go for a walk?" Raven shyly suggested. "I-It might make you feel a little better. Th-That's what I used to do sometimes..."

"Yeah, let's go..." Azure agreed weakly.

"H-Here," Raven said, offering Azure her hand. With her other hand, she produced several tissues from her coat pocket.

"Thanks," Azure said, taking the tissues. She wiped her face dry, then took a deep breath to salvage any hint of composure she could muster. "Where to?"

"Hmm, that way," Raven said, pointing down the road to the left of Greyson's house.

The pair was silent as they walked down Greyson's driveway to the sidewalk, and continued down the street. Despite the streetlights spaced evenly down the straight road, the night was darker than usual. Hedges and fences hugged the sidewalk to the left of the two girls, perforated only occasionally by driveways. The trees planted in the grass to the right, between the sidewalk and street, provided some cover from the rain, but also cast eerie shadows across the pavement ahead.

"I asked you over, because... Greyson and I got in a fight," Azure suddenly stated. "A big one."

"I-I'm sorry, wh-what was it about?" Raven gently asked.

"He keeps doing such dangerous things," Azure expressed. "It makes me feel like he doesn't trust me to fight for myself. It makes me feel weak, and I tried to tell him about it."

Raven and Azure walked together for several blocks, discussing how Azure had acted toward Greyson over the past week, and how he had responded. The two discussed the smaller details of the argument, before Raven finally paused in front of a high row of hedges. Curious, Azure turned to face her.

"I-I know th-that there's something else," Raven asserted. "Y-You've never been this upset. P-Please, I'm here to listen to you."

Azure sighed. "Well, at one point, he reminded me that he was the one who saved me during initiation." She trailed off. All progress she had made in regaining an even head, and breathing the cool night air in even breaths, was gone. Tears returned to her eyes.

"Then, he told me he wished he never met me."

"Wh-What?" Raven exclaimed. "I-I'm so sorry. B-But, maybe, h-he didn't mean it? I-I can tell he likes you a lot..."

Azure shook her head. "I don't know. The thing is, he almost never says things he doesn't mean. He usually takes time to make sure he says exactly what he thinks, even when we've argued before." She sighed, and another tear ran down her cheek. "I think he meant it. But I... I love him _so_ much. I only wanted to fight by his side, instead of be protected by him. For the rest of our lives, if he would let me. But, he doesn't feel the same way."

Raven moved into Azure, wrapping her arms softly around her lower back. "B-Back at Beacon, during the dance, I told Rusty I hated him. But, I-I didn't. I... _loved_ him," Raven reminded. "S-Sometimes people say things they don't mean. I-I think anyone can do it."

Azure was silent as she hugged Raven.

"S-Sorry, I'm not very good with advice," Raven said, pulling away from Azure after a pause that verged on uncomfortably long. "D-Do you w-want to keep walking?"

"You made me feel a little better. I think I'll need some time to myself, but I'll talk to him tomorrow," Azure said. A flash lit up the area. "Oh. I think that was lightning, maybe we should go back," she suggested with a wavering smile.

Another flash, no thunder. Four more flashes in just a few seconds. Raven looked to the side.

Her heart skipped a beat. Then, it pounded. Four hooded figures, robes covering even their faces, stood at the edge of the street, about a body length away from Raven and Azure. One more stood to each side of the pair at the same distance. Their pointed hoods, robotic posture, and complete stillness unnerved the girls more than any grimm they had ever seen. Without a word, the girls pushed past the figure in the direction of Greyson's house, and sprinted.

Azure tripped over something she could not see, and fell prone. A few feet later, Raven did the same. A bundle of what resembled black ribbon bound Raven's feet. Then, Azure felt similar ribbons binding her arms as she tried to get up. She panicked as she realized she was immobilized. Four arms of shadow wrapped Raven's torso, fingers entwining in a malicious embrace.

Six flashes lit up the night.

In front of the two girls, a hooded figure knelt down. On its torso, a symbol resembling a dagger with an eye embedded in the hilt and a larger eyeball behind it was stitched in red. With one arm, the figure lifted a finger to its mouth. With the other, it placed its index and middle fingers between Azure's eyes.

Intense exhaustion filled her body. Then, blackness.

Raven's heavy eyelids opened slowly. Her vision was blurry, but focused to see six hooded figures standing in a semicircle in front of her. Two more figures, both lacking masks, stood nearer to her chair. Raven looked behind the figures, seeing she was inside what looked like a cathedral. She sat facing rows of wooden pews and a dark marble floor. The walls to her left and right were made of intricately detailed columns, each supporting a similarly detailed arch to the next column. What looked to be a door to the outside stood at the far side of the room, and a white marble mezzanine above that. The room was giant, comparable to the size of Beacon's main hall.

Raven glanced nervously at her mysterious, unsettling captors. Her arms had been bound behind her, to the back of the decidedly uncomfortable marble throne she sat upon. Her ankles were fastened by wrought-iron shackles to the legs of the throne.

"Welcome, to the Church of Awakening!" the man before her exclaimed, raising his arms outward. He was elderly, white ponytail tucked into his robe. His stone grey eyes and eternally-wrinkled forehead lent him a stern countenance. " _You,_ are the chosen one! Hallelujah!"

A chorus of hallelujahs rang out from the hooded figures behind the man.

"Th-The chosen... one?" Raven weakly inquired. Her head sank below her shoulders.

"Yes, my dear," a woman confirmed. She stepped forward, grasping Raven's chin and raising her head to force eye contact. The woman's black hair fell similarly to Raven's, but lacked feathers. Her icy blue eyes and crimson smile sent a shiver down Raven's spine. She closed her eyes in fear. "Look how _youthful_..." the woman marveled, voice filled with uncontrolled pleasure. "If only I could take you for myself."

" _The Church of Awakening.._." Raven pondered. " _This is what the Phantom attacked? Then, maybe there was a reason!? And what is it they want from me?_ " She grit her teeth. _This_ was the Church of Awakening. The story Ember told her back at Beacon, about a mysterious group rumored to be responsible for the disappearance of Awakened faunus, came back to her. She would not disappear like the others. After all she had been through, she was a fighter. _She_ would be the one to get revenge for the missing faunus. Raven clenched her fists, straining mind and body to focus her fear and budding anger into her wings. " _If you're stealing me because I'm 'Awakened,_ " she thought, " _I'll make you regret it!_ "

"Awakened One. We've subdued your aura. There will be no Awakening here," the woman stated, as if reading Raven's mind. The blood in Raven's veins ran cold as she heard the next words from the woman's mouth.

"Quite the family resemblance we have here. _I still remember your father._ "

Azure's eyes opened to an unfamiliar scene. It was bright, daytime again. She lay on a huge bed in an ornately decorated room. A porcelain lamp sat on the mahogany desk in front of her, beautiful floral pattern etched in gold. She lay under a crystal chandelier, surrounded by ivory walls and gold-framed mirrors. A grand wardrobe, two times Azure's size in each direction and skillfully crafted from dark wood, stood across the room from the foot of the bed.

The wardrobe pulled Azure's attention to her own clothes. They had been soaked through when she walked in the rain with Raven. Now, they were completely dry. Two equally disturbing possibilities raided her mind as she remembered the sudden appearance of the hooded figures on Greyson's street. Either she had been knocked out long enough for her clothes to dry completely, or they had been taken off, dried, and returned to her as she slept.

Azure let out a deep breath, then pulled herself to a sit. Wherever she was, she needed to find Raven. She needed to figure out who the hooded people were, and what they wanted. Most importantly, she needed to get _out._

"Ah, I see you're awake, my love," an unnerving voice called from behind Azure. A voice Azure wished she did not recognize. Its eerie tone entered Azure's ears and sent ice through her veins. Eyes wide in sheer horror, Azure forced herself to turn around. Sitting on the far side of the bed with an unsettling grin was Vladimir Garnett.

"Welcome home. It has been too long, hasn't it?"

 **Note: I have no idea how to describe voices. I strongly suggest looking for my voice actor journal post on DeviantArt. Account is TeamGRAE!**

 **Character Notes: Raven Corvis**

Raven was actually not planned to be in the first drafts of my story. I had only thought about Team GRAE, but when I saw Velvet introduced all the way back in 2013 I also wanted a "shy, bullied faunus" character. I'm sure glad I added Raven, because she's been responsible for a pretty darn big chunk of the plot so far, nearly acting as a second protagonist in parts. I can't imagine the story without her.

Raven suffers from pretty intense social anxiety, and dysthymia. She has had major depressive episodes in the past, but they're mostly under control.

Raven's favorite pastimes include writing stories and poetry, playing video games, and watching Remnant's version of anime.

She's the shortest member of Twilight Crusade by quite a bit, standing at only 4'11.

Her last name is derived from the biological genus containing ravens. Also, her middle name is "Mallori," similar to the scientific species name for the "little raven."

If Raven existed in this world, her favorite bands would be P!ATD, Gorillaz, The Beatles, and Fall Out Boy, in no particular order.


	28. V2: Speculation and Conversation

**Note: Greyson's semblance is powerful, but unreliable. Foresight works by giving glimpses into the future, but it takes quite a bit of training to unlock its full potential. Currently, Greyson can reliably see several seconds into the future (which he uses sometimes while fighting). Also, out of combat he occasionally perceives danger when something is about to happen. His nightmares spawn from this, as they are his semblance going wild in his sleep.**

Greyson's eyes opened to an unearthly scene. A crimson birdcage sat suspended in the air in front of him, illuminated somehow in the suffocating blackness. Though Greyson himself could fit inside the cage, the only captive was a lone raven, perching on a branch and nervously picking under its wing with its thick beak. A moan filled the air, and eventually surged into what sounded like a faraway chant. The bars of the birdcage leaked blood. The liquid dribbled down the bars and dripped off, creating a dark puddle on the now visible floor.

It quivered.

Below Greyson's feet, and below the cage, was a pale, flesh-like floor. The puddle of blood absorbed into it. Greyson watched in horror as the raven itself began to melt, flesh and feathers alike liquefying and dribbling through the cage's bottom. The floor absorbed it all.

A gash opened in the floor. From the wound, a massive crimson gemstone rose, and the wound sealed off. Greyson felt something was off about the gem's strangely dark core, and looked closer. A sapphire was trapped inside. Greyson could not move, nor touch anything. He sat still as if watching the sequence play out on a screen in front of him. Then, he woke up.

As soon as his eyes opened, Greyson remembered the horrible reality of everything that had happened. He, in an uncharacteristic fit fueled by both stress and lack of sleep, had lashed out at Azure. She and Raven had left together presumably to talk it over, and neither had been heard from since. Greyson had spent most of the previous night tossing and turning, mulling over every detail he knew. Raven and Azure were not at Rusty's house. No neighbors had seen anything. The police could not be contacted, because Azure was officially "dead" after the Battle of Beacon. And, most troubling, Raven's scroll had last sent out a signal from a street just under a mile away. Any calls immediately failed.

It was a miracle Greyson got the sleep he did.

Greyson and Ember did an early morning investigation of the site of the last signal from Raven's scroll, but found nothing. By the time they returned, everyone who stayed with Rusty was gathered in Greyson's living room.

"Man... they really had to go and take the two nicest people we've got..." Dustyn bitterly reflected, halfheartedly attempting to lighten the mood.

"We don't know it's an abduction yet, but it's starting to look that way," Greyson assessed. He punched the table he leaned over. " _Damn it,_ it's all my fault!"

"It's the fault of whoever took them," Rusty asserted. "Look, I know you had an argument, but I know Azure would have come back if it wasn't for whatever happened."

"She wouldn't have left in the first place if it wasn't for me," Greyson contested.

"Looking for someone to blame won't get us anywhere," Ember reminded. "Unless we're actively trying to find whoever's behind this."

"She has a point. Kita, you said you were out last night," Greyson called. "Did you see anything?"

Kita shook her head solemnly. "Nothing of note, I fear," she began. "I was training in the field next to your house, and I saw the two walk by. I did not see anyone else, nor did I see them return."

"Kita's got a pretty good eye, too," Alexandra commented. "I'd say if she didn't see them, they didn't come by the field again."

"Hey, think it could be the Phantom's group?" Rusty hypothesized. "The Phantom himself might not be fully recovered yet, but maybe they did it in retaliation?"

"It's possible," Greyson agreed. "I feel like they would only take Azure though..."

"I guess you're right," Rusty credited. "But... I hate to say this, what if they took Raven, and they're trying to brainwash her? They've fought Raven before, they know she's strong."

"I guess so. We should definitely keep that open," Greyson agreed. There was a lull in conversation, inviting Greyson to speak again. "...I'm not sure if this has anything to do with what happened, but I've been having nightmares again," he stated. "There's a recurring theme of these rubies appearing. And last night, I saw a raven trapped in a cage that leaked blood. These dreams are practically my semblance running wild. I know they mean something."

"That _is_ interesting," Ember noted. "There's also another possibility I wanted to bring up. I told Raven about this, but not you guys. Faunus with Raven's semblance tend to disappear more often than regular faunus in proportion to the population size. The disappearance rate is worst in Mistral. Some think there's a group behind this."

"Wait, what?" Rusty cut in. "They go missing!?"

Ember nodded. "It started as a conspiracy theory, but it's looking like more than that now," she said. "...My father was an 'Awakened' faunus. The bodies of my parents were never found. Officially it was listed as a grimm attack, but I've had my doubts in the past."

The room was silent in shock.

"It's only a possibility," Ember assured. "I still have no idea what Azure has to do with it." The room was silent for a few moments as the six other teens took in what Ember had said.

"So, uh... rubies, huh?" Alexandra blurted. Ember looked to her with a muted mixture of irritation and confusion. "H-Hey! I have something important to say! I know a bit about gems, and..." she trailed off, thinking of something important to say.

"Spit it out, or shut up," Ember griped. "This is serious."

"They might not be rubies in your dream! They could also be, I don't know, garnets?"

Ember, forgetting her aggravation, froze and stared at Alexandra. Greyson did the same.

"Huh? Did I say something important?" Alexandra asked.

"You... you said garnetts, right?" Greyson asked.

"Yup. They could also be red spinels, but that's a little obscure. Why do you ask?"

"You said something important. _Very_ important."

Several hours passed without making much more headway. Greyson was convinced the abduction was Vladimir's doing. That at least would explain Azure's disappearance. He had no idea what Vladimir could want with Raven. And what about the disappearance of 'Awakened' faunus? Greyson sat alone in his room, mulling over these complex, unpleasant thoughts. The rest of Twilight Crusade stuck around his house, trying their best to keep spirits up. Kita had retreated outside to the cover over Greyson's back deck sometime in the early afternoon. Finding limited entertainment inside, Alexandra eventually followed.

"Heyyyy!" Alexandra called, peeking her head out the door. Laid on the table in front of Kita was a canvas. Dark browns and greens contrasted with the surrounding white to make up a series of pine trees next to a frozen stream, painted lightly in broad strokes of light blue and white. In back of the scene was a large grey mountain.

"Ah, hello Alexandra," Kita welcomed.

"I didn't know you could paint," Alexandra commented, stepping closer. "Wow, it's beautiful! Are you gonna fill in the ground and sky?"

"Painting has long since been a hobby of mine. I find it helps my mind when things are not going well," Kita responded. She looked down to her work. "And I will keep the ground and sky white. It is snowy, but perhaps I will add some texture..."

"No, you don't need to! I like the minimalistic look you've got here," Alexandra assured. "Where's this supposed to be?"

Kita smiled faintly with nostalgia. "It is my home," she replied.

"I like it. Looks a bit too cold for me though, I'm used to the desert," Alexandra said. "Do you ever miss home?"

Kita nodded. "At times. I believe, if I am still alive after we've found Azure and Raven, I may ask to see my home once again."

Alexandra pulled back in surprise. She let out a nervous laugh. "If you're still alive?" she repeated.

"Yes. If the Garnett family truly does have Azure and Raven, we may be in danger by trying to save them," Kita said. "But, I have already pledged my life to the protection of Greyson and Azure. I will not hesitate to put my life on the line for Raven as well. It is simply my duty."

"Hmm... don't you wanna live though? Why not live to protect them longer?" Alexandra asked.

"Whether I get a choice to live as I protect them is uncertain. Of course if I can choose, I will choose life."

"You know, you never cease to amaze me, Kita," Alexandra complimented.

"I... amaze you?" Kita inquired.

"Yes! You're so strong, and so dedicated," Alexandra began. She shifted nervously. "You're... You're _gorgeous_ , you're fearless, _and_ you're artistic!"

"Ah, please. There is no need to flatter me," Kita dismissed warmly. The two continued to converse for nearly half an hour, but found the conversation constantly shifting to Azure and Raven. As Kita resumed her painting, Alexandra wandered back inside.


	29. V2: Revelations

Raven had almost grown used to her prison. Three nights had passed, as far as she could figure based on the long periods of darkness and silence. Surprisingly, she found sleep in these times despite being chained by ankle and wrist to a marble throne, in an unfamiliar world of stone, wood, and silence.

The door to the cathedral creaked open. Raven caught herself hoping, for the first time, it was the usual hooded figure coming to deliver her twice-daily portion of mystery meal. Though Raven was convinced what she was force-fed was not food by any safety or ethical standards, whatever the greyish-brown, slightly salty, slop was did cure her hunger.

Raven shivered, head sinking as she saw who entered her chamber. The woman, who seemed to be in charge of the hooded figures. The one who knew her father. And, Raven figured, was responsible for his death. The woman had stopped by a handful of times since Raven's abduction, always to feel every inch of her body and whisper unsettling, mysterious, lines about Raven's blood and youth into her ear. But the mere presence of the wicked woman was not what unnerved Raven. It was what she held at her sides. In her left hand, a syringe. In her right, a dagger.

"Awakened One, I'm back~" the woman called.

Raven refused to respond, defiant glare fixed on the ground.

"It's time for your shot!"

" _Shot!?_ " Raven reflected. Before she could react, her head and neck were forced forward by an icy hand, and the collar of her shirt was forced back. She suppressed her gasp of pain as a thick needle dug into her spine, just between her shoulder blades. Her heavy breaths came in gasps. The liquid burnt like savage fire flowing through Raven's veins, which stiffened to concrete after spreading to every capillary in her body.

She felt exhausted.

"We need to keep that aura of yours in check!" the mysterious witch of a woman explained. She raised the dagger, grinning from ear to ear. "Now, let's test if the concoction still works..."

One frigid hand grasped Raven's chin, lifting her head to the side and exposing the nape of her neck. Raven winced as she felt cold steel slide through her flesh, and a warm trickle of blood fall to the neckline of her simple black t-shirt. The woman cleaned Raven's blood with her tongue.

"It's... _delicious!_ I cannot wait for the Promised Day..." the woman moaned. Raven shivered. The icy grasp on her chin held it up. Raven felt sick as the woman's crimson lips met her own.

"D-Don't touch me, y-you hag!" Raven objected. The woman looked shocked, before smiling eerily and raising the dagger again.

"Careful. If you keep speaking out of turn, your tongue may be the next test..." the woman warned. She turned away and walked a few steps, before turning back to Raven. "Someone will be out to feed you shortly."

Raven waited, her hunger all but forgotten. She was sure this woman, and whoever her hooded cult members were, were behind her father's death. Behind the disappearances of several "Awakened" faunus. And here she was. Bound and miserable. Helpless, like the rest of the "Church of Awakening's" subjects.

Soon after closing, the door creaked open again. The hooded figure was shorter than usual. Perhaps a woman. Raven stared down the approaching cultist blankly.

The cultist stopped feet in front of Raven. They looked behind themself, then lifted their hood. Raven immediately recognized the shoulder-length orange hair, heart-shaped face, and dainty nose. The woman's amber eyes, though, seemed alien. She raised a finger to her mouth to indicate quiet, then lowered her hood again.

"It's me. You know, 'Gamma?" the girl greeted, gathering a spoonful of the food-like material. "Yeah. From the White Fang. And stuff like _this_ is why I fight." She fed Raven her slop. "This is the true nature of humanity. Destructive. Parasitic. Faunus are above this. _You're_ above this."

"Wh-What do they want from me?" Raven asked after choking down the spoonful.

Gamma sighed. "They've really told you nothing..." she remarked. She raised another spoonful. "You know the 'Two Brothers' religion?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah. One brother created, a-and the other d-destroyed. Th-Their last creation was humanity, wh-which has the power to do both," Raven recalled.

"The Cult of Awakening wants to bring the Brother of Destruction to life, in order to destroy anyone, or anything, who gets in the way of their Garnett-Schnee merger. They say their family will inherit the power of a god. Rule the New World, and other garbage like that."

Raven froze at the mention of "Garnett." Vladimir's family was behind this all. Azure was somewhere in the building, trapped with the monster of a man. She knew Vladimir was loathsome, but the truth behind him and his family was shocking.

"Open up. We don't know who's watching," Gamma ordered. She fed Raven another spoonful. "The members of the cult are going to sacrifice you. They'll all drink your blood, and the son of the two older Garnetts will conceive a child on that night, with the one I assume is your friend." Gamma sighed with irritation. "Idiots. It's never worked in the past, but they keep doing the same damn thing."

"Th-That's disgusting..." Raven weeped. "B-But, what a-are you doing here? Why are you one of them?"

"I'm not. I'm a double agent," Gamma explained. "The White Fang is coming to save you, once the Phantom's back. Bet you can't say the same about your precious Twilight Crusade."

"Th-They're coming, I know they are..." Raven protested, gulping down more of her meal.

"If they come, they'll come for Azure. You're an afterthought at best," Gamma retorted. "Join us. That's how you'll avenge your father. And all the faunus who've been sacrificed to the hubristic greed of humanity!"

"No."

"You should grateful I'm doing this much for you," Gamma hissed. "You're part of the group that almost killed my Boss. Although... I did get to see his face, so it wasn't all bad..."

"H-His face?" Raven asked, finding an opening to gather information for Twilight Crusade. "Wh-What does he look like?"

"Nice try," Gamma curtly responded. "I _will_ say, seeing his face was worth all the waiting. Maybe you'll get to see it too if you join the White Fang. Don't try getting too close to him though, got it?"

"I-I have a boyfriend. A-And he's a human," Raven replied.

"Gross," Gamma concluded. She tilted a cup of water into Raven's mouth. "I should be going, before they start to suspect anything. Glory to the White Fang."

Raven did not respond.

Meanwhile, Azure fared no better. Over the course of her captivity, she had barely slept. It was impossible with Vladimir next to her. Dark circles took refuge under her dull eyes. She shook with every clumsy movement. Unrelenting thoughts tore through her mind. Would Greyson and the others come for her, or was this just a convenient way to get rid of her? Where was Raven? _Why had she been taken too!?_

Azure twisted absently at the gold doorknob. Locked, as always. She knew the idiocy and futility in twisting over and over, but a stray hope at the back of her mind begged her continue. She had not the slightest idea of what to do or where to go on the miracle of leaving. All she figured, based on glances out the window, was that the mansion sat on expansive grounds cleared out of a dark, dense, verdant forest.

Azure felt the door give under her fingertips. She practically leapt forward with surprise and joy.

The brief moment was intercepted by Vladimir's arm. With an uncomfortable grip on Azure's breast, he forced her back into his room and entered it. He worked off his tie with a malicious smirk.

"Get _away from me!_ " Azure shrieked furiously. "Gods, I can't wait for my friends to come in and take care of you monsters for good!"

"They're not coming, dear," Vladimir dismissed. "The Church of Awakening has eyes and ears everywhere. Do you know what they say? Your beloved Greyson has been having a hard time since you left. He's been completely torn on whether to spend his long, sleepless nights with Miss Kurayami, or Miss Blackburn."

"No. Shut up! That's a lie!" Azure furiously protested.

"What, you think he'll come and save you?" Vladimir goaded. "He's learned his lesson. That _is_ what you fought about, is it not?"

"You... how long have you been watching!?" Azure shouted.

"We have eyes everywhere, my love," Vladimir reminded. He moved in closer. "Even back at Beacon. I couldn't bear to know you earned another man's affection, but now I have you all to myself..."

Azure pushed him away, and scrambled backward to the other end of the bed with the look of a cornered animal etched into her face. "The one with the shadow hands... who is that?"

"He is one of our most loyal clergymen," Vladimir stated. "I believe you became acquainted with his son. He went to Beacon, after all. Kurai was the first failed Child." Vladimir grinned. "And our child, my love, will be the first success. I know he is to become the Vessel for the Brother of Destruction's soul."

Meanwhile, Azure fared no better. Over the course of her captivity, she had barely slept. It was impossible with Vladimir next to her. Dark circles took refuge under her dull eyes. She shook with every clumsy movement. Unrelenting thoughts tore through her mind. Would Greyson and the others come for her, or was this just a convenient way to get rid of her? Where was Raven? _Why had she been taken too!?_

Azure twisted absently at the gold doorknob. Locked, as always. She knew the idiocy and futility in twisting over and over, but a stray hope at the back of her mind begged her continue. She had not the slightest idea of what to do or where to go on the miracle of leaving. All she figured, based on glances out the window, was that the mansion sat on expansive grounds cleared out of a dark, dense, verdant forest.

Azure felt the door give under her fingertips. She practically leapt forward with surprise and joy.

The brief moment was intercepted by Vladimir's arm. With an uncomfortable grip on Azure's breast, he forced her back into his room and entered it. He worked off his tie with a malicious smirk.

"Get _away from me!_ " Azure shrieked furiously. "Gods, I can't wait for my friends to come in and take care of you monsters for good!"

"They're not coming, dear," Vladimir dismissed. "The Church of Awakening has eyes and ears everywhere. Do you know what they say? Your beloved Greyson has been having a hard time since you left. He's been completely torn on whether to spend his long, sleepless nights with Miss Kurayami, or Miss Blackburn."

"No. Shut up! That's a lie!" Azure furiously protested.

"What, you think he'll come and save you?" Vladimir goaded. "He's learned his lesson. That _is_ what you fought about, is it not?"

"You... how long have you been watching!?" Azure shouted.

"We have eyes everywhere, my love," Vladimir reminded. He moved in closer. "Even back at Beacon. I couldn't bear to know you earned another man's affection, but now I have you all to myself..."

Azure pushed him away, and scrambled backward to the other end of the bed with the look of a cornered animal etched into her face. "The one with the shadow hands... who is that?"

"He is one of our most loyal clergymen," Vladimir stated. "I believe you became acquainted with his son. He went to Beacon, after all. Kurai was the first failed Child." Vladimir grinned. "And our child, my love, will be the first success. I know he is to become the Vessel for the Brother of Destruction's soul."


	30. V2: Discovered

"...That's right, Rocco. It looks like this Winter is set to be the coldest on record!" the television blared. "We can expect a higher than average snowfall in the Yamakori Mountains, along with-"

Greyson turned off the news.

It was a rainy Saturday morning, one week after Azure and Raven's disappearance, and two after the fight against the Phantom. Greyson, though convinced the two had been taken by Vladimir, was still no closer to figuring out where exactly they had gone. He called every member of Twilight Crusade over, hoping anyone would have information.

"I looked up the location of Garnett Jewelers' Headquarters. It's not far from downtown Mistral," Ember declared. "Searching it is an option, but it seems unlikely they would bring a pair of hostages into corporate HQ. Azure and Raven are probably at a private residence somewhere."

"I'm sure there's security, too. I don't want them to know we're onto them..." Greyson said. He sighed. "If it is Vladimir that took them, Azure's probably alive. What they're doing to those two, though... I don't even want to think about it."

"The faunus who've gone missing never reappeared," Ember reminded grimly. "I hate to say it, but the chance of finding Raven alive decreases by the minute."

"Can we... maybe talk about how to find them then, instead of this?" Rusty shakily asked. He was met with weary nods of approval.

"I am unsure of whether this will help, but I have a proposal," Kita stated. "I would like to infiltrate the White Fang again."

"You're gonna have to be careful," Alexandra warned. "You were the one to fight the Phantom, he might recognize you..."

"That is a risk I am willing to take. I do not know whether the White Fang and the disappearances are related, but I wish to be sure," Kita said.

Greyson nodded. "Right. There's a meeting tonight, if they do them weekly. I'll drive you over there."

"I believe the last meeting I attended began at nine," Kita responded. She turned to Alexandra. "Do not worry. I am experienced in human combat, and I will bring what I believe is necessary."

At the specified time, Greyson drove Kita a couple blocks away from the White Fang's warehouse. Kita donned her mask, and exited the car. Greyson and Ember waited, listening to the fat raindrops pound the roof of his silver sedan.

Kita boldly walked into the entrance, where a dozen or so other White Fang grunts funneled in. Kita nodded to the same bull faunus, who Kita figured was some form of bodyguard. She walked into the meeting area. One tall grunt, with hair spiky and white down the middle, slick and black on the sides, stared her down. He whispered aside to a woman with vibrant orange hair and cat ears poking out of her hair.

" _The Phantom's allies_ , _Beta and Gamma,_ " Kita noted to herself. " _I must distance myself..._ "

None of the other White Fang members took any notice of Kita. They waited in a murmuring mass, until the taller White Fang leader, the one with the fitted black suit and long, straight blade took the stage.

"The fall of Mistral inches closer! The day humanity learns to fear faunus approaches!" he cheered. The crowd roared. As before, Kita added her own shouts of feigned joy. "But, Haven is not the only task at hand. Once again, the Church of Awakening has taken one of our own. Though the girl allies herself with humans, this is the _last_ faunus they kill for their own distorted, selfish desires!"

Kita froze. " _Church of Awakening?_ " she reflected. " _Of course, that was what the Phantom attacked in Summer. So, they are the ones who have Raven? And she may be killed? Or has she already been?_ " Kita's heart pounded.

"Now, I hand the stage over," Adam Taurus stated. "Give the one who strikes fear into the hearts of humanity a warm welcome."

Kita watched as a hooded figure strode to the stage. She looked closely. There was something undoubtedly changed about the Phantom's mask. As the Phantom turned to face the stage amid a maelstrom of laughs and jeers, she noticed just what had been altered. In place of the Phantom's right eye slits, a red X had been painted onto the solid white surface.

"If _he's_ the one attacking them, the girl's good as dead!" a furious man shouted.

"Isn't he just a spy or something? There's no way he would always show up right where Twilight Crusade is!" A second faunus questioned.

"Shut it!" Gamma shouted "He killed Twilight Crusade's leader before he lost his eye! Do you remember that, or is your skull too thick to house a brain!?"

"Yes, thank you. Thank you," the Phantom dryly began. "I am truly humbled to be standing before you."

"GET ON WITH IT!"

A holographic map projected behind the Phantom, with a blue dot due East of downtown Mistral, deep in the woods. "Gamma has been infiltrating the Church of Awakening for the last several months. Because of this, we know exactly where their activities take place, when they will sacrifice the faunus girl, and who exactly they have hostage."

Kita suppressed her surprise as Azure and Raven's Beacon Academy portraits flashed onto the same holographic screen. "The girl on the left is Azure Ozeen. She's a member of Twilight Crusade, and related to the Schnee Dust Company. It goes without saying that she's of low priority to us," the Phantom introduced. Kita noticed Gamma hopping up and down in impatience, hand raised high above her head like a child eager to answer her teacher's question. Kita looked to her right, and located a cutlass at the hip of the horned man next to her. To her other side, the grunt she knew as "Beta" inched closer to her inconspicuously.

Kita felt a distinct tension in the air, the static bristling before a fight.

"The girl on the right is Raven Corvis. Also a member of Twilight Crusade, but she's a faunus. A mission success would mean the assassination of the three Garnett family members, and the recovery of Miss Corvis. Preferably alive. The Church of Awakening plans to sacrifice the girl on December 21st, the Winter Solstice. That is when we believe the highest number of Church members will be present. That is when we strike."

"BOSS!" Gamma shouted. "THERE'S A SPY IN THE AUDIENCE!"

The electricity sparking through the air struck Kita in a bolt. She began to shift stealthily backward, into the wall of White Fang members behind her. "Excuse me," Kita said. "I must use the bathroom."

"Right there!" Gamma exclaimed from the stage, pointing to Kita with microphone in hand. "Who you may think you know as Kuroka Kitsuhara, a new member of the White Fang, is Kita Kurayami! The one who took the Phantom's eye!"

The crowd broke into an uproar as the faunus behind Kita tore her fake ears from her head, and rose them above his. Kita shoved the horned man next to her and ripped his cutlass from its sheath, and swung it over her head to block a cleave from Beta's own blade. Kita pushed outward with her confiscated weapon, slashed once, ducked under an attack from behind, and swiped at the aggressor.

Kita dodged to the side as two more grunts lunged at her. Running for the door, she took time to attune to the weight of the weapon in hand. Lighter than Kenakuma, and more rigid. Shorter, and undoubtedly duller. But it would have to do.

Shots rang out, and Kita felt a sharp, burning pain in her shoulder. The two bullets had been stopped by her aura, but she knew it could take little more. Kita turned, focusing as the next volley came her way. She deflected the shots with unreal reaction time, before jumping over an incoming grunt and slashing down his back as she landed. She parried an overhead swing from yet another faunus upward, grabbed him, and thrust him into the crowd between her and the door, creating just enough room to dash through.

"I knew there was somethin' up about ya," the bull faunus bodyguard cut in. His massive frame blocked the front door. Beta and Gamma walked in from both sides, closing Kita in between them and the mass of White Fang grunts.

Kita tossed her blade into the air, and in one swift motion pulled two of her "disorientation" grenades from her belt, bit the pins out, tossed them behind her, and caught the cutlass. She dashed forward as the grenades detonated with a flash, and produced thick white smoke. She dodged an axe attack powerful enough to shatter the concrete floor beneath her feet, and tossed a black spherical object the size of an egg into the stocky bull's eyes.

He yelled in pain, curling forward with hands covering his eyes as a black haze enveloped his face. "My eyes! I... I can't see!" he yelped. A second disorientation grenade, and Kita vanished from the warehouse without a trace.

Kita nearly lunged through the window of Greyson's car, after taking special care to be sure she was not followed. "Go! We must go!" Kita urged. She took her mask off, and ducked under the window of Greyson's car as the engine roared to life.

"What happened? Where'd your ears go?" Greyson asked.

"I cannot go back. They know I am the one who hurt the Phantom," Kita answered.

"Damn. Did you at least get intel?" Ember inquired.

"Yes. I know the area where the Church of Awakening is keeping Azure and Raven. And I know they plan to sacrifice Raven on the night of the Winter Solstice. The Phantom is planning an attack then."

Greyson nearly slammed on the brakes. He turned around. "Wait. The Church of Awakening? Like the one the Phantom attacked?" he asked.

"Correct."

"Azure and Raven are being held hostage, and they're trying to sacrifice Raven?"

"Correct."

The drive back to Greyson's house was tense. Though Ember and Greyson desperately wanted to discuss every detail about the "Church of Awakening," the air in the car was oppressive, as if urging they keep quiet. Kita had calmed considerably by about halfway through the car ride, curiously turning over and inspecting her new weapon in the back seat.

When the three returned to Greyson's house, everyone in Twilight Crusade was still awake. It had become late, about time most of the members usually turned in for bed. Yet everyone seemed to stay up in collective anticipation for Kita's briefing.

"She's going to be sacrificed..." Rusty reflected. "What the _hell?_ What the _actual hell?_ "

"That is only if we do not rescue her," Kita reminded. "As it stands now, both Raven and Azure are alive."

"Finally, some good news," Alexandra commented. "Those creepy bastards are gonna pay."

"We're gonna get our teammate back!" Ezelia cheered, looking to Dustyn.

"From what I hear, Raven probably has the highest chance of survival," Ember stated. "The Phantom wants to save her too. Azure is another issue."

Rusty let out a nervous laugh. "Who ever thought I'd be on the Phantom's side?" he jested.

"I would not be so quick to say that," Kita advised. "He said he prefers Raven survive, but his priority is assassination of the Garnett family, and Church of Awakening members. The Phantom does not care for Azure's well-being."

"That's where we come in," Greyson said confidently. "It's dangerous, and further from now than I'd prefer. But I think we should attack at the same time as the Phantom; the night of December twenty-first." He set his hands on the table in front of him as he stood, and began to trace over its surface like an invisible map as he spoke. "Best case scenario, we gain additional power against Vladimir. The Phantom will be more than enough to beat him. Worst case scenario, we fight a war on two fronts, against two of our strongest enemies. In that case, it'll be little more than a suicide mission. I need to know that all of you guys are willing to go through with this."

"I am. It's the best way to get Raven and Azure back," Rusty agreed.

"Sometimes I'm not sure if you're a genius or an idiot. But I've grown to trust you," Ember added.

"We'll make them regret taking Raven! And Azure!" Ezelia exclaimed.

"Everyone's in on it, huh? Guess I can't back out!" Dustyn joked.

"Even if we end up in the worst scenario, I'm sure I can figure something out with my dust and all. Let's do this!" Alexandra encouraged.

"I will follow you, no matter where you lead me. If you believe this is the best course of action, I will pursue it," Kita pledged.

"Then it's settled," Greyson declared. He swallowed, looking over his teammates. "The night of the Winter Solstice will be our most dangerous mission to date. But also our most important. We're getting back who we lost, and stopping the Church of Awakening once and for all."


	31. V2: The Promised Day

**Note! Sorry this chapter took so long to put out! I've been suffering from writer's block and extremely busy, not a good mixture for uploading...**

Almost a month had passed, and the night of the Winter Solstice had arrived. Greyson spent every last second of his free time training with the newly upgraded Blitz and Nimbus. It was the only thing that kept his mind at ease. So much time had passed without Azure. What had been done to her and Raven, the fear and confusion they must be feeling, and the motives behind the "Church of Awakening" tore at his mind. It was torture for him, and he knew how much worse the time had to be for the abducted.

Twilight Crusade's airship flew silently through the murky black night. The air was frigid and dense, clouds above obscuring the moon and warning of rainfall. Below was a sea of old-growth pines, their shadowy branches poking up into the hazy sky. Nobody in the airship's cabin talked. Rusty stared grimly at Child's Play, letting it down and back into his hand. Ember sat in back of the cabin, sharpening her daggers. Ezelia, Dustyn, Kita, and Alexandra all watched intently out the window, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"Ah! That may be it!" Kita suddenly called. "In front, and to our left! I see a clearing, and a great structure!"

Greyson scanned the trees for the location Kita pointed out, and spotted it. A huge lot in the shape of an oblong hexagon, with a rounded stone path down the middle, leading back to a mansion and interrupted by what Greyson believed to be a fountain. Smaller paths cut through at regular angles, lending the entire premises the look of a gemstone. Grassy areas, hedges, statues, and gardens took refuge between the paths.

"That's a strong candidate," Greyson agreed. He lowered the airship, keeping an eye on the lot as he looked for a place to land. He started with surprise as a procession of carriages pulled out of the forest and into view. All horse-drawn, they parked at various locations along the main path to the mansion, and a crowd of hooded figures popped out.

"Oh, that is _so_ creepy..." Ezelia noted.

"Agreed. I don't think they see us, so let's keep it that way," Greyson added. He flew the ship a small distance away, behind the mansion. After landing, Twilight Crusade walked through the woods with weapons drawn until coming to a small clearing the the edge of the mansion's property. The ornate dwelling looked to be about four stories tall, but dark, cathedral-like spires rose twice as high into the sky at each corner of the sharply pointed roof. Three tall, broad, stained-glass windows made up much of the back wall of the building.

The only thing separating Greyson from rescuing his friends was a wrought-iron fence and a stone wall.

"We'll wait here until we see the Phantom's airship," Greyson declared. "If it doesn't arrive within the hour, we're going in alone."

The lights of an airship came into view after about twenty minutes of waiting in the cold. It lowered into the woods toward the front of the grand building. Without a word, Alexandra raised her hands toward the fence and separated the iron bars, the metal warping to each side like clay. Greyson walked through, and Alexandra began to quietly sculpt stone stairs up to the windows in back.

"I hear many footsteps approaching the front of the building. Perhaps two-dozen," Kita stated.

"Good. That should be the White Fang. Hear anything on the inside?" Greyson asked.

"Yelling. And singing. I cannot make out words though."

"Thanks," Greyson said. He turned to the rest of Twilight Crusade, hanging Nimbus over his shoulder. "Now let's give them something to yell about."

Inside, the rows of pews were packed shoulder to shoulder with figures in identical black cloaks with pointed hoods. Each one yelled, sang, chanted, and threw up their arms in an orchestrated response to Vladimir, who circled Raven with dagger in hand as he recited practiced verses. Azure watched from the mezzanine, shackled by both arms to the rails. Her staunch refusal to eat had done numbers on bags sat under her dulled eyes, and her cheeks had sunk into her face. She hopelessly watched the scene in front of her play out. Greyson got what he wanted, she thought. She was gone, and he didn't have to pretend to care about her anymore.

"The Holy Night has come! The Promised Day! The darkest night, on which the Brother of Destruction will return to His worldly form!" Vladimir yelled. He threw his arms up. "Hallelujah!" he cheered.

" _HALLELUJAH!_ " the hooded ones echoed in a chorus.

All hope had drained from Raven. She sat with head bowed nearly to her lap, greying hair obscuring her face. She was powerless, just like every other faunus to be sacrificed for nothing. If she was saved, Raven thought, it would be by the White Fang, and she would be forced into their ranks. There was no hope for Azure. If she was lucky, the White Fang would kill her for being related to the Schnee Company. Raven's only solace came from knowing the Church of Awakening was misled. Never would their plan work.

"Tonight is the night we consume the blood of the Awakened One! Her lifeblood will renew us, and give life to the God of Destruction! _Hallelujah!_ "

Vladimir circled around to behind Raven, holding her chin up and raising a jeweled dagger to her throat. A nearby hooded man walked up with chalice in hand. Azure lowered her head, watching defeated tears rain to the floor.

" _HALLELUJAH!"_

Vladimir paused as the door at the opposite end of the cathedral room, directly under Azure's shackled form, creaked open slowly with a deep, uncomfortably drawn-out groan. The uncanny noise filled the massive room, echoing off the stained glass and concrete. It replaced the chants and cheers of the cult members, and became the only sound in the spacious cathedral.

Standing alone in the doorway was the Phantom.

"So, the White Fang's very own Phantom has come in person, has he?" Vladimir arrogantly taunted. "I didn't expect the one feared by Remnant to be the runt of his litter."

Without a word, the Phantom aimed a dark green pistol between Vladimir's eyes. The rest of his squad, now totalling twenty-five, filled in the room behind him.

The Phantom and Vladimir stood unmoving, each one knowing not to act. The Phantom knew if he shot, Vladimir's aura would block the attack, and Raven would be killed. Vladimir knew he was unarmed, and killing Raven would mean an attack from one of the most dangerous men of Remnant.

A cacophony of shattering glass filled the air as the window behind Vladimir burst into a rainbow of falling shards. One small, circular object bounced on the ground at Vladimir's feet. Two more landed in the crowd of cultists on either side.

Three flashes of light, and dense, choking, smoke filled much of the room.

The ground shook as Alexandra raised a platform of stone below the window a safe distance below, and all of Twilight Crusade jumped down. Alexandra then pushed both arms outward forcefully, catapulting Vladimir over Raven and into the center of the room.

"Wh-What!?" Raven shrieked. Her heart pounded with a pungent mixture of confusion and hope.

"Raven! It's me!" Rusty called. He took one of her shackled hands in his. Raven could barely make out his face in the smoke, but smiled from ear to ear. She was saved. After all this time, Twilight Crusade pulled through. She resented the fact she ever doubted them.

As Rusty knelt next to Raven, using his semblance to rust her cuffs to uselessness, the room broke out into a storm of metal clashes and gunshots. The White Fang and Twilight Crusade had a slight upper hand on the cultists, but they fought back viciously with daggers and dust.

Greyson slashed at the chest of one cult member to his left with Nimbus, depleting his aura in an instant and bringing down the handle of Blitz over his head. He looked up, and started with surprise as he saw Azure shackled to the mezzanine above. He could have sworn he caught a smile from her before a pair of hoods jumped in with daggers. Greyson parried an attack each with Blitz and Nimbus, then shot one with a bolt of lightning dust, ducked under the slash of the second, jabbed at his stomach with Blitz, and knocked him to the floor with a brutal punch.

Reaching Azure now was out of the question. Vladimir, though unarmed, stood between the two of them. Beyond him was the Phantom. Another flash of light, this one different from Kita's disorientation grenades. A cloaked figure appeared next to Vladimir, straining to hold up his weapon, Crimson Rook, and his massive shield.

Greyson looked to the Phantom. Then to Vladimir, now fully armed.

The Phantom disappeared into a black haze, reappearing at Vladimir's back. The crimson-clad castle of a man turned on his heel and deflected the attack with his shield. Seeing an opening, Greyson let loose a lightning bolt from Blitz.

Vladimir shouted as the bolt contacted him, and turned again. Greyson rushed his foe, dodged to the side of the first attack, but had his next slash blocked by Vladimir's shield. He was shoved backward into a mess of White Fang and cultists alike, who attacked him from both sides. Greyson took a shard of ice dust to his gut, luckily blocked by his aura. He fired a bolt of lightning in the cultist's general direction, which chained to three more before fizzling out. Greyson looked to the White Fang member at his right. He blocked two cutlass strikes with Nimbus, slashed with Blitz, fired a shotgun blast with Nimbus again, and kicked the grunt backward. He knocked over two more White Fang members in the process as he fell.

"And here I thought we were working together," the Phantom dryly taunted.

"Don't remind me. And your man attacked _me,_ " Greyson contested, both weapons raised as shotguns toward Vladimir.

"It was a joke. To be fair, I'm not sure I can take this psychotic bastard alone."

Alexandra took a momentary break from shackling cult members in stone to raise a wall between the heat of battle and Rusty, who half-supported and half-carried Raven. Tears of joy streamed down her face as Rusty led her to the edge of the room, then kissed her for the first time in over a month.

"Y-Y-You came!" Raven exclaimed. "I thought you would, b-but then s-so much time passed, a-and..."

"Greyson thought it would be best to fight when the Phantom attacked. I'm sorry we took so long," Rusty explained, holding Raven.

A single White Fang grunt appeared between Alexandra's wall and the wall of the room. "What the hell do you want? I _support_ faunus equality! I'm more against the Cult of Awakening than I'm against you guys!" Rusty yelled.

The grunt twirled a single lock of orange hair next to her hood. "As much as I hate you humans, Raven's pretty damn adamant that you guys are alright," Gamma admitted. "Come with me. I know where your weapon is."

"You know her, Raven? How?" Rusty questioned.

"Sh-She's a double agent. She's how the White Fang knew about all of this," Raven explained.

"Yep. You have me to thank. Me and that little spy of yours," Gamma said. "Now are you coming or what?"

"Y-Yes. But only if we can help Azure too," Raven demanded.

Gamma sighed. "...Fine," she agreed. She, Rusty, and Raven snuck along the side of the fight as Alexandra resumed working with Ezelia and Dustyn to subdue the cult members.

Meanwhile, Ember and Kita tore through the Church of Awakening with merciless efficiency. Kita slashed across necks and across chests, jabbed guts and backs, all while easily dodging each attack hurled her way. Upon witnessing Kita's rampage, one cult member made for the door.

"And where is it you think you're going?" Ember cut in, lunging in front of the cultist with daggers ready. She struck twice, but both attacks were parried by a single blade. Ember threw a dagger, and ripped another from her belt. The thrown dagger too was parried, and Ember threw a second, caught the first, and continued to attack. None of her rapidfire assault of steel, easily enough to tear through the typical cult member, connected with her target.

"Who are you!?" Ember questioned. "No way in hell you're a typical cultist. You're a huntsman!"

"Ember," a woman called gently. "It's me."

She removed her hood, revealing a face just beginning to wrinkle. Her copper eyes, greying crimson hair, and slightly upturned nose sent a chill down Ember's spine, freezing her solid with a mixture of confusion, surprise, and pure fury. It was as if she looked into a mirror that aged herself thirty years. She knew who the woman was. Never did she think she would see the woman's face again. And _why_? Ember questioned. _Why did she join the cult that she knew murdered her father!?_

"Mom..."

 **Likin' the story? Not likin' it? Be sure to leave a review so I know how you guys are enjoying things so far!**


	32. V2: The Frigid Witch

Rusty and Raven followed Gamma up the marble staircase, and onto the mezzanine where Azure was chained. Beyond her, the battle still raged on. Dustyn and Ezelia worked together to tirelessly fight both the Church of Awakening, and the White Fang grunts that attacked them. Alexandra fashioned the marble floor into cuffs and walls, trapping cultists and splitting up fights that fell out of her friends' favor. Greyson and the Phantom continued their assault on Vladimir. So far, their battle was stalemate at best.

Azure pulled back toward the three with excitement as they approached, but winced as the shackles dug into her wrists. "Rusty! And Greyson is... everyone's here!" she stammered in excitement.

"We've come to rescue you!" Rusty proudly exclaimed.

"That wasn't _my_ goal..." Gamma growled in protest. She kept watch on the staircase as Rusty knelt next to Azure. He laid his hands on Azure's cuffs, and thick steam rose from them.

"Y-You really don't seem like a bad person," Raven offered Gamma. "W-We would have to talk with our leader, b-but maybe, i-if you wanted, you could join us..."

"No chance in hell."

Azure ripped her hands free of the cuffs that restrained her from the railing. She jumped forward to hug Rusty in thanks, then Raven. She looked to Gamma, whose crossed arms and frigid posture let Azure know exactly how much she desired a hug.

"And... thanks to you, too," Azure said soberly. "You probably don't like me much, and I understand that. But thank you."

"Yeah, whatever," Gamma responded. "Hurry it up. You guys are weak right now. Let's get your weapons and go."

Ember stood still, a body length in front of her mother. No. The traitor, who Ember knew killed her husband in the name of some hair-brained "god." She felt no happiness. No relief at her well-being. Only rage. The whole time, her own mother had been behind Ember's life on the streets. She was the one who forced Ember to become the monster she knew she was.

"You... you're one of them..." Ember accused, her contrived tone of calm masking a torrent of darkness inside. Ember felt as if her head would explode, and let out the rage, confusion, and betrayal saturating in her mind.

"Please. Let's get out of-"

" _Shut up!_ " Ember shrieked. "Do you know what I've been through because of you?! I've become a thief. A _murderer_. All these years, I've thought I was an orphan, but I was wrong." She raised a dagger, tears of rage flooding her eyes as she looked into her mother's. "It's time to make myself one."

"Ember, wait!" Mrs. Blackburn protested. She blocked Ember's first attack, and held her daughter off with all her might.

"How could you betray dad!?" Ember shouted. "Betray me!? We were family!"

"Ember, I-"

Ember cut her mother off with a dagger jab to the abdomen. A red ripple tore across her mother's body, and Ember punched her backward onto the marble floor. Ember's mother rolled out of the way as her daughter lunged forward. Ember struck the concrete. Without missing a beat, she spun around, whipping two more daggers from her thigh sheathes, and flinging them toward her mother. In the time it took her to block all four, Ember lunged again.

Her dagger met her mother's throat.

Time seemed to slow as Mrs. Blackburn fell backward to the floor, a crimson trail following her neck. Ember stood over her mother, watching as the crimson puddle under her head and neck grew. She thought to kill the one responsible for the life she had lived, the constant struggle for a meager survival, would feel liberating; like a weight off her shoulders.

Yet this felt wrong.

"Em...ber..." her mother choked. She weakly held out her arm. Ember's knees gave out, and she knelt next to her. "I didn't... betray you."

"What?" Ember snapped, a potent twinge of regret and confusion mixing with her fury.

"The Church of Awakening... they did to your dad, what they wanted with your friend," Mrs. Blackburn explained. Ember knew by the volume of blood dribbling from her mother's neck, these were her final words. "They forced me to join them. If- If I didn't, th-they would have used you, as... a mother..."

"Mom!" Ember yelled. She propped her mother's head upright and held her neck, a vain attempt to fight the inevitability she herself had caused.

"I'm... so proud of you. You're so strong. So... beautiful. I know... your father... would be proud too."

The last of her strength ebbed away, and her head fell back on her shoulders. Ember slumped forward, her tears mixing in with her own mother's blood.

Greyson attacked Vladimir with Blitz, then reversed upward with a second slash before firing a shotgun round with Nimbus. The first two attacks, Greyson's foe blocked with his lance, and the last with his shield. The Phantom leapt in from behind, punching downward with a blade that extended from his hand. The attack connected, and Vladimir responded with an attempt at a spinning shield bash. The Phantom phased to the side, fired several shots with a semi-automatic pistol, then dodged a lance jab.

"This guy's got a lot of aura to spare..." the Phantom noted aside to Greyson.

Greyson nodded once in agreement as he stared down Vladimir. "I've fought him before. It feels like he has more aura than back then..."

Vladimir grimaced in irritation, and launched a grenade from the barrel of Crimson Rook. Greyson rolled to the side as the concrete floor shattered, and fired another bolt of lightning from Blitz. His target raised his shield, deflecting the bolt toward the Phantom, who dodged just in time to let the bolt fly into the chest of a cult member.

The Phantom jumped, planted his left foot on Vladimir's lance, and snapped Vladimir's head to the side with a brutal kick with his right leg. The Phantom then flipped over his opponent, unloading with both weapons into Vladimir's back before landing. For the first time, Greyson landed a combination of successful attacks into Vladimir's back. As he recoiled, the Phantom crossed his jaw with a tonfa-bladed punch. Finally, Vladimir's aura broke.

The Phantom raised his pistol, and aimed between his opponent's eyes.

In the split second between the squeezing of the trigger, and the moment of impact, a hooded figure jumped next to Vladimir, and took his arm. In a flash of light, the two disappeared.

"You didn't get him?" Greyson guessed, looking to the bullet's crater in the marble floor.

"Bastard disappeared," the Phantom growled.

Greyson looked to the Phantom in unease, still holding Blitz and Nimbus at the ready. The two had teamed up, of course. But a month earlier they had nearly fought to a bloody end. Now their common enemy had gone, there was no telling what the Phantom would do.

A second flash of light lit the area, causing Greyson to flinch. Taking Vladimir's place amid the chaos was a thin woman in a black dress, with high cheekbones, pale skin, icy blue eyes and pitch black hair; who looked as if she had spent years fighting the inevitability of age. To her right, a severe looking older man, white hair fixed into a ponytail, grey eyes fixed straight ahead.

The room seemed to fall silent as the feeling of overwhelming power coalesced from the air. The air behind the black-clad woman glaciated, first slowing the movement of everyone caught in her path, then freezing them where they stood.

"That's... that's... no. _No!_ " Alexandra suddenly shrieked. Forsaking the raging battle around her, she retreated to the back of the room. She sat against the wall, and sculpted a layer of stone over herself. She was certain. The woman who had just appeared was the same one responsible for the death of the Inyan tribe.

"Phantom squad, retreat!" the Phantom suddenly ordered. "If I'm not at the ship in twenty minutes, leave without me!"

"Captain, no!" Gamma refused. Several White Fang members shoved past her as she stared into the warzone from the door.

"Raven. Go," Azure demanded, pushing her into the mass of White Fang grunts. She followed with Rusty, keeping a keen eye behind herself.

"Gamma! This is a direct order!" the Phantom barked.

"I'm staying with you!" Gamma insisted.

"I knew you were nothing more than a filthy rat," the woman in black hissed. She raised her arm, and it became coated in a harsh blue light. "I should have done this a long time ago."

As the Phantom turned back around, a spear of ice shot from the woman's hand. It pierced Gamma's aura instantly, and lodged itself in the pit of her stomach. She looked down, breaths coming in labored gasps as blood ran from her stomach down her legs. She touched the gruesome wound with a shaking hand. "C-Captain, I... I lo-"

A second icicle impaled her neck, and a sudden stiffness wracked her body. She fell to her knees, then the floor. She was still. The Phantom rushed to her side, but knew there was nothing he could do.

Apparently satisfied, the black-clad woman strode forward still. As she approached Ember, who still hunched over her mother's body, Kita stepped to Ember's side, Kenakuma drawn. Noting the masked huntress, the woman stayed a safe distance away.

"Aww, found mummy, have you?" the woman mocked in a babyish voice. "And what have you done? She did this all for you, you know. What a nasty, ungrateful child you are!"

Ember snarled with each coming breath, and shook with rage. A look of pure hatred etched onto her blood-covered face as she stood. "Yeah. I've made a mistake," Ember admitted in a voice quivering with fury. "But you... you robbed me of _everything!_ What won't be a mistake is sending your entire family to Hell, you repugnant bitch!"

"And a nasty mouth, too?" the woman calmly goaded. "Someone should wash it out! I guess it won't be your mummy..."

Ember screamed with saturated rage, and lunged for the black-haired woman's throat. She stood still, watching in fearless amusement as the crimson-haired huntress's dagger neared. She raised a single hand.

" _Tempus Diapsalma._ "

Instantly, all but the woman, her husband, and a third hooded figure became covered in a paper-thin sheet of ice dust, and held still. Ember's face was frozen in murderous rage, dagger just an inch from its target. Kita was close behind, intending to finish the job should Ember fail. The Phantom hunched over Gamma's body. Greyson was locked in combat with a pair of hooded figures, Blitz blocking a dagger and shotgun Nimbus pointed to his second attacker. The woman checked her diamond-encrusted wristwatch. Eleven thirty-nine and four seconds. The thinnest hand of the watch stood still.

"Should we be leaving, Masters Garnett?" the still-animated hooded figure asked.

"Not yet," Mrs. Garnett replied, looking to the mound of marble against the back wall. "That little desert mouse thought she had escaped me. How cute..."

Mrs. Garnett strode past the frozen bodies to where Alexandra had concealed herself. She effortlessly rose the layer of stone to reveal Alexandra, who had frozen with head hanging below her knees, hands covering her crying eyes.

Crown Jewel was lifted from her head.

"Lucius, do you have everything you need?" Mrs. Garnett asked, turning to her husband and placing Crown Jewel atop her head with a satisfied smile.

"Yes. All that is left is the house itself," Mr. Garnett responded.

"It has served us well, but we can find another," Mrs. Garnett agreed. She produced a dancing ball of flame in her right hand.

"I think it's time we move."


	33. V2: Beneath the Mask

The next few seconds were some of the most confusing and disorienting of Greyson's life.

Greyson parried an incoming attack with Blitz, and shot a blast from Nimbus. As the two hooded figures recoiled, so did Greyson. The floors and walls had become bathed with flame in a split second. Greyson turned, instantly realizing the Garnett family had vanished. Ember soared through the air, anger shifting to confusion and frustration when she realized her target had vanished. She crumpled to the floor gracelessly, and backed up after landing too close to a scorching wall of flame.

"NOOOOOO!" Alexandra screamed from the back of the room. The stone she hid under had been shifted to the sides, to reveal her quivering form, reduced to a shivering mass on her hands and knees. "It's... it's gone..." she whimpered. A chunk of smoldering marble and wood ceiling crashed to the ground in front of her, and she fumbled backward.

"Everyone, out!" Greyson commanded. "Leave the Church survivors be. Maybe they'll have figured out that their ' _leaders'_ don't give a damn about them."

Greyson made his way outside to look for Azure and Raven. He gave a sidelong glance to the Phantom along the way, who still hunched over his fallen comrade. Once Greyson made it outside, he saw the remaining White Fang grunts retreating into the forest. He paid them no mind. Just next to the bottom of the stairs, Azure faced toward the woods, with Raven sitting on the ground in front of her and Rusty kneeling, hugging his girlfriend from behind.

Greyson's footsteps down the marble stairs echoed through the night. When his feet hit solid ground, the flames inside the mansion shattered a stained-glass window above him. He ducked, and shielded his eyes. As he brought his head up, his eyes met Azure's.

A weak smile came to her face, and the season's first snow began to fall.

Greyson stepped forward, and the two embraced tightly for the first time in over a month. "I'm... I'm _so_ sorry," Greyson said.

"You're here... you actually came for me..." Azure reflected. She buried her head into Greyson's shoulder. "I thought you'd be happy to have me gone."

Greyson's embrace tightened. "I didn't mean any of that. I honestly don't know what came over me that night. I just... you know what happened to Lazula. Then ever since I heard Pyrrha died, all the pain of losing Lazula came back. I felt like Lazula's death was my fault," Greyson explained. "I'm so happy to have met you, and I'm happy to be with you, even though I don't deserve someone like you."

"Greyson..." Azure stammered. "None of that is your fault. _None._ "

"When I said I never wished I met you, I meant I wished that I didn't have to protect you. But I realize now even thinking _that_ is wrong," Greyson continued. "I'm done trying to protect you. Once your strength is back, we're fighting side by side. Until the day we beat Vladimir, and whatever the hell else this world throws at us."

"You can protect me," Azure softly argued. "Just let me protect you back."

The beginning of joyful tears forming in his eyes, Greyson leaned in and kissed Azure.

"Dude... is... is that-" Rusty stuttered, voice filled with bewilderment. Greyson opened his eyes to see him standing up and facing the Garnett mansion, pointing up to the entryway. Greyson separated from Azure, and turned to look.

Walking slowly out from the mansion, holding the limp body of Gamma, was none other than Pierce in full White Fang uniform. His hair rippled in the blistering wind, revealing an eyepatch over his right eye before settling back down. He stopped some distance away from Greyson and the others, then set Gamma gently in the grass.

Greyson walked over to Pierce, eyeing him cautiously. The faunus turned around to meet Greyson's gaze. Then, he halfheartedly raised both hands into the air.

"I'm not your enemy," he assured. "I never was."

"You were the Phantom," Greyson bluntly asserted.

"I thought you might figure it out after I spared your life one too many times," Pierce replied dryly. "I'll explain later." He looked down to Gamma, and knelt next to her again. He took off her mask, and softly closed her eyes.

"I... I really wish, th-that it didn't have to end like this f-for her..." Raven commented, unable to look at her body. "Sh-She was nice, t-to me at least. Sh-She made me think. Th-That maybe the White Fang isn't all evil..."

Pierce nodded once. "Her real name was Valencia. She was twisted with vengeance ever since the night a band of humans killed her family. But she was nowhere close to evil. She was a cat faunus, but ironically enough, she liked to build birdhouses. Not a bad cook, either." he sighed. "I thought I might be able to convince her to defect with me when I joined you guys, but now I'll never be sure."

Dustyn and Ezelia solemnly helped Ember carry her mother's body out of the burning mansion amid a handful of fleeing cult members. Greyson counted the members of Twilight Crusade. Azure, Raven, and Rusty were out before Greyson. Dustyn, Ezelia, and Ember were all safe. A pang of fear wracked his body as he realized Alexandra and Kita were nowhere to be found.

They were the last two alive inside the burning building. Flames lashed viciously at the walls around them, painting the entire scene a shade of flickering orange. The constant crashing of marble ceiling to the floor warned of the building's imminent destruction. Alexandra still huddled at the room's deepest end, tears streaming from her eyes as Kita stood in front of her.

"Alexandra! You must get up!" Kita pleaded, right arm outstretched toward her.

"No! Crown Jewel is gone! I've... I've failed my father, and I've failed my tribe!" Alexandra protested. "Go! Go and leave me here!"

"I am not leaving without you," Kita insisted. "If she was able to take Crown Jewel from you, you are able to take it back."

"You saw how strong she was, and that was without the Crown Jewel!" Alexandra argued. She weakly raised an arm, and pointed at a nearby pillar of flame. It flickered slightly, but rippled upward disobediently after a handful of seconds. "I'm useless without it, and she's already so strong. How can we hope to beat someone like that?"

A chunk of marble crashed to the floor behind Kita, sending a plume of flame and ash into the air.

"Both of our lives have been an eternal struggle for survival," Kita adamantly reminded. "Do you wish to forfeit yours here, after a single defeat? I do not know if we can defeat her, but we must try."

"All my life, I've been running from her, with nothing but a burning desire for revenge," Alexandra reflected. She looked up to Kita. "And now we've met again... I can't lose."

Kita unmasked, revealing her slightly smiling face made red and sweaty from the searing heat. She re-offered her hand to Alexandra, closer this time. She looked her in the eyes. "That is correct. If your legs work, we will pursue her together. If they do not, I will carry you. What is important is that we keep moving forward."

Alexandra took Kita's hand, and was helped to her feet. Her hand lingered on Kita's for several seconds, before the two walked carefully together out of the building. Greyson stood halfway up the stairs, peering cautiously into the burning building. He breathed a sigh of relief as the two appeared unharmed. Every member of Twilight appeared safe, and Raven and Azure had been saved. But the frigid air did not carry the smell of victory.

Kita watched in surprise as a familiar figure, one she had not seen since the Fall of Beacon, walked over to Ember's hunched-over form. He uttered something inaudible to her, but she viciously smacked away the hand he set on her shoulder in protest.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she shouted. "Twice now, you've left without a damned word, and you come back like nothing's wrong!? Leave! And don't come back this time!"

Pierce sighed, and stood up. Without another word, he walked over to Greyson as Kita neared.

"Kit, who's that?" Alexandra inquired.

"He was an ally, who disappeared after the Fall of Beacon," Kita explained. She noticed Pierce's eyepatch, and deep scar running down the right side of his face. "It looks as if he was the Phantom."

"Yeah, that was me," Pierce admitted. "Nothing good can happen here. I'll explain everything once we get back."

"So, you're joining us?" Greyson asked. "Against the Garnetts, I think we'll need you."

"If Ember will let me," Pierce jested. "I've got nowhere to go."

The next morning, all of Twilight Crusade, aside from Ember, who stayed locked away in the guest bedroom, gathered in Greyson's living room. The Mistral Police had arrived at the Garnett residence shortly after all of Twilight Crusade made it out, and questioned Greyson and the others intensely. By the end of the long night, Greyson managed to mostly convince them he told the truth, and the bodies of Valencia and Mrs. Blackburn were moved. "The Phantom," a fallen White Fang grunt Pierce abandoned his mask and cloak with, was reported dead.

"So. I think it's about time I explain a few things," Pierce addressed. "During the fall of Beacon, I found a high ranking White Fang official, named Adam Taurus. We fought for a bit, before I told him I wanted to join the White Fang. I didn't know I would end up becoming a high-ranking official myself. I was just in it for the intel." He took a sip from a glass of water. "This Adam Taurus guy has it out for humanity. He wants faunus supremacy by force. What the delusional bastard doesn't realize is that he's just a puppet, being used by some mysterious group of people."

"There's someone controlling the White Fang?" Greyson asked.

Pierce nodded. "Never was able to get a name, though. Whoever they are, they're dangerous. They're planning an attack on Haven."

"Another question," Azure interjected. "The attacks on the Church of Awakening and Schnee Dust company make sense. But why did you want to blow up the Great Canyon Dam? You could have killed hundreds of humans _and_ faunus!"

"I was given the job because the city downriver of the dam has been historically discriminatory toward faunus," Pierce explained. "But also, I knew you guys were going to be in the dam that day. Do you really think the worker who gave you your weapons managed to sneak past me? I saw him, but I let him deliver your weapons to you."

"So how did you know we would be there?" Azure continued.

"Rusty did a good job of removing the tracking bug from the airship, but the bug wasn't deleted. It was transferred to his scroll."

"For real?" Rusty said, pulling out his scroll. "So any given time, the White Fang can see where I am? That's creepy!"

"You should probably do something about that," Pierce replied.

"I am sorry," Kita said suddenly, looking at Pierce's eyepatch. "I took your eye the night we fought. I believed you had killed Greyson."

"No need to apologize. It hurt like hell, but you did what was right, considering all you knew at the time," Pierce stated. "Of course you were angry, it's obvious you love him."

"Not anymore," Kita stated. She looked from Pierce to Azure, Greyson, then back. "It is true, I had inappropriate feelings at the time. But they are gone now."

After a couple of hours, the members of Twilight Crusade separated to their usual houses. Greyson's parents were ecstatic to have Azure back, and Rusty's mother hugged Raven for what felt like hours. Finally, after everything that had happened, times were peaceful once again.

 **Note: The amount that I listened to the acoustic version of Unravel while writing this chapter probably was not good for my health oops**

 **Well, that's a wrap for Book 2! I'm not sure when Book 3 will begin, because I haven't finished planning the entirety of it. Also, I'm facing a bit of uncertainty as to how long my series will last, because while I have plot plans I don't wanna miss out on any HUGE events in the main RWBY plot, so I might add those. But my series has been independent of RWBY's plot since Twilight Crusade started so I don't know...**

 **Alright, fellas. It's time to answer the question that's torn families apart and started wars. Who is best girl/best boy?**


	34. V3: The Flag

**Author's note: I made a tumblr! I can't promise a ton of activity on there, but if you wanna see some ramblings, Twilight Crusade memes, and occasional art, check out Greysonskye on there!**

Two weeks passed. Christmas had come and gone, but after the events at the Garnett Manor, it was not nearly as merry as the year prior. Though Greyson and the others were ecstatic to have Azure, Raven, and Pierce back, Ember had all but vanished to the rest of Twilight Crusade. She locked herself in an upstairs bedroom from the moment she woke until the minute she fell asleep, and only came out when absolutely essential.

Greyson and the others at first attempted to coax her out, but had long since given up.

The public view of Twilight Crusade had changed some. After thwarting the Phantom's attack on the Harvest Festival, the crew was hailed as heroes. However, the public perception now was split. While many still believed Twilight Crusade to be a lawful group of huntsmen who risked it all to bust a murderous cult, troubling comments began to leak into the websites that formerly supported them.

" _Did they actually work with the White Fang?_ "

" _Where were they when Haven was attacked? Laaaame._ "

" _Not sure if criminals or heroes..._ "

" _Murder is murder. Lock them up._ "

The public was not the only critic of Twilight Crusade. Evidence of the alleged faunus sacrifice taking place in the Garnett Manor was insignificant. Raven and Azure's self-reports of the mansion's layout, along with where evidence _should_ have been, was consistent with the charred remains of the premises. Neither of the two had failed one of the Mistral Police Force's many lie detector tests. Yet, almost everything had burned to ash. Greyson knew the police's contact with him and his friends was just the tip of the iceberg. From the police, to the government and military, _all_ of Mistral was watching.

Greyson and Pierce leaned on the fence surrounding the field next to Greyson's house, chatting while watching Kita and Alexandra train. To make up for her loss of Crown Jewel, Kita gifted Alexandra the cutlass she stole when revealed as a spy in her last White Fang meeting.

Alexandra slashed sideways, but was instantly parried by Kita. An attempt at a jab was blocked, as well as a second slash. Kita ducked to the side, turned on the balls of her feet, and brought Kenakuma across her body as she reversed direction. Alexandra clumsily thrusted her sword toward Kita's, and stumbled backward to the ground.

"You cannot be afraid," Kita gently reprimanded. "The moment you fear your opponent is the moment you have lost."

"We're training with actual weapons!" Alexandra protested as Kita helped her back to her feet. "Someone could get seriously injured!"

"I assure you, there is nothing to worry about," Kita assuaged. "I have trained in combat since I was a young child. I do not mean to be immodest, but you cannot injure me. And I have learned to restrain my attacks."

Alexandra sighed. "Why are you even bothering? You guys should just leave me somewhere so I don't get in your way."

"No. You are one of us, and we will not leave you behind," Kita argued. "You would like to be able to defend yourself without dust should the need arise, correct?"

"Yeah..." Alexandra admitted.

"Good. Now, come at me as if I were an enemy," Kita directed.

Alexandra charged forward, blade poised to strike.

"Could you crack the eggs? I think I'm gonna get started on the other bowl," Azure asked. She stood in front of Greyson's oven, Raven at the counter next to her helping her mix the ingredients for a platter of brownies.

"Y-Yeah," Raven confirmed. She gently tapped the egg on the edge of the counter, checked the damage, and tapped it again. Somewhere in the house, a door opened.

Azure paused as Raven cracked a second egg into the bowl. Raven looked to her friend, wondering if her egg cracking was satisfactory. Azure was silent, one finger in the air as she listened to footsteps slowly plod down the stairs. She made her way to the kitchen door, socks sliding silently on the hardwood floor.

Ember stood at the bottom of the stairs, and glanced out the window for a couple seconds before placing her hand on the doorknob.

" _Ember?_ " Azure called with a smile. "What's up?"

Ember turned around, and bid Azure a halfhearted wave. "I've been in that damned room for two weeks," she said. "I figured it's time for me to stop moping and start making sure nobody else has to go through the hell you did, Raven did, and my mother did."

Azure nodded with a smile. "It's good to see you feeling better. Greyson's been keeping an eye out for clues as to where Vladimir and his family ran off to. Nothing yet..." she explained.

"I can start trying to track them down too," Ember replied. Without another word, she opened the door and stepped outside for the first time since the battle at the Garnett household.

"...You know, this reminds me. We haven't had any practice matches in a long time," Greyson said, turning his attention from Alexandra and Kita's training battle to Pierce.

"True," Pierce grunted. "Honestly, I'm a little rusty at the moment. Didn't get much training time as the Phantom, and I haven't fought grimm in months."

"How about all three of us train together again?" a woman's voice called from just behind the fence. Greyson jumped a bit with surprise, and Pierce's raccoon ears flicked back to the voice's source.

"Decided to see some Sun, Ember?" Pierce dryly asked.

"You don't call me Burgundy anymore," Ember simply noted.

"I figure by now, you'd want to forget," Pierce explained. He turned to her. "Or am I wrong?"

"No, not at all," Ember admitted. "Also, I think I owe you an apology."

"Apologies are empty. Half the time they don't mean a damn thing, it's just out of courtesy," Pierce dismissed. He squinted in slight confusion. "Besides, what did you even want to apologize for?"

"I screamed at you. It was completely unlike me," Ember explained.

"I deserved it. It's behind us now, so forget about it."

A light smile traced across Ember's lips. "You know? After all this time, you haven't changed one bit," she noted.

"Yes, and?" Pierce responded.

"...I'm glad."

Just then, Alexandra and Kita's blades clashed loudly, sending a metallic clang through the field. Kita twisted Kenakuma to free it from its lock on Alexandra's cutlass, then thrusted forward, knocking Alexandra back to the frost-covered ground with her shoulder. Kita pointed her blade dangerously close to Alexandra's throat.

She sheathed her sword, then held out a hand to help her friend up. "I apologize," she said. "That was too hard. Are you injured?"

Alexandra took Kita's hand, and rose to her feet. "It's fine, I don't think I'm hurt..." she replied. "I'm really not cut out for this sword fighting thing. If you were an enemy, I'd be dead! And being so close to someone trying to kill you is terrifying!"

"As I said before, you must not be afraid," Kita reminded. "I have years of experience over you as a member of the Shrouded Fox. It is natural to have difficulty training with me."

"You've been mentioning the Shrouded Fox a lot lately, Kit. And you've painted like, five different landscapes. Are you homesick?" Alexandra guessed.

"Perhaps a bit. Soon, I would be celebrating my official transition into adulthood. I have simply been thinking of that," Kita explained.

"And, I remember you talking about wanting to go back if you lived through getting Raven and Azure back," Alexandra recalled. "They're safe, and you're alive, so, you know..."

"The Garnett family is still a danger. To ask for a vacation purely for my sake would be selfish," Kita replied.

Alexandra sighed, a cloud of breath forming in the cold, moist, air. "You are _too_ selfless. Treat yourself once in awhile, girl! Anyway, I'm getting a little cold, so I might head inside for a bit. Wanna come?" she asked.

"I may train for a few minutes longer, but I will be inside soon," Kita concluded. Alexandra nodded, then slyly walked to Greyson, Pierce, and Ember after making sure Kita's attention was solely in her training.

"Sup, captain?" Alexandra playfully greeted. "Kit's been feeling a little homesick lately. If it's not too far from here, do you think we could visit the Shrouded Fox?"

Greyson paused, and scratched an imaginary itch on the back of his neck as he considered the trip. "I'm not sure where exactly it was, but it shouldn't be more than a couple hours..." he said. He chuckled a bit. "We might have to break in a little bit, but I know a place we can stay near the Shrouded Fox's camp."

The day after the next, all of Twilight Crusade had packed up their bags, some food, and an absurd amount of coats, for a couple nights' stay in the Yamakori Mountains. Kita was at first struck with a mixture of embarrassment, slight irritation with Alexandra, and anticipation for returning home. As the trip approached, the former two emotions faded into the latter. Greyson's mother nearly forbid them leave, as she knew the dangers of frigid gale winds and white-out snow conditions. Yet, by some miracle, Twilight Crusade's airship left Hajimaru due North.

First, Twilight Crusade saw the sprawling streets of downtown Mistral. Sitting atop a small mountain, Haven Academy reached into the sky, but was still far below. North, the suburbs faded into thick evergreen forests, dotted irregularly by small villages. North still, and villages became more sparse. The few who dared take refuge in the harsh forests of Northern Mistral would undoubtedly disappear quicker than they materialized, snuffed out by grimm, bandits, or some mixture of both. Twilight Crusade's airship continued on its way through the thick white clouds, and snow began to blanket the forests below. Vicious winds ripped at the airship's sides, threatening to blow it into the craggy foothills below.

Against the stark white of the hills below, and the imposing figure of Mount Yamakori, Greyson noticed something. On the other side of a stony foothill, a pillar of grey smoke rose into the sky.

"Whoa, dude what is that?" Rusty asked, pointing forward.

"It looks like smoke," Greyson guessed. "Something's not right. Wildfires don't happen here, and if they did, they wouldn't happen in the middle of Winter." Without another word, Greyon lowered the ship, and, fighting against the icy winds that drove to push it down the mountain, lowered it onto a ledge just before the hill's peak.

"We should put on our coats before we get out..." Azure advised, looking out the window to the frigid landscape outside. Winds whistled past the airship, and fractals of ice began to etch across the windshield.

"Can I, uh... stay in here?" Alexandra proposed. "I _really_ don't like the cold..."

"We should stay together," Greyson answered. "No guarantee the grimm won't attack an isolated target. We won't be outside for long though, don't worry."

Alexandra sighed, and donned a puffy purple jacket, with a massive fringe of fur framing the hood. Kita, who sat next to her, held her coat out as well.

"I'd rather you didn't freeze out there," Alexandra argued. "A tanktop and skirt ain't gonna cut it in sub-freezing temperatures."

"Sub-zero, actually," Ember reported.

"When I was exiled, the weather was much like this," Kita dismissed. "I will be fine."

"How strong you are scares me sometimes..." Alexandra noted. She winced as Rusty opened the door and icy air burst into the cabin, swirling around before escaping back onto the mountains. "Being exiled would have killed anyone else."

As Greyson and the others trudged to the top of the hill, Kita seemed to be faring better than anyone. With head lowered against the wind, she marched forward. She reached the peak first.

Kita stood still for several seconds. Then, she fell to her knees. Concern growing, Greyson rushed to the peak. What he saw sent a potent mixture of grief, anger, and confusion through his entire body.

Bodies.

Men, women, and children alike, slaughtered across the streets of their village. Weapons littered the ground, drenched in the pools of blood they sat in. Most of what remained of the wood and stone huts smoldered, raising a column of smoke into the cloudy sky. Several smaller grimm patrolled the cobblestone pathways, picking at the remains of the dead they encountered. And, above it all, on a post raised from the tallest building in the dwelling:

The flag of Twilight Crusade flapping proudly in the wind.


	35. V3: Accusations of Malevolence

Greyson had gone numb to the cold as the wind ripped through his hair. His wide-open eyes felt as if they would freeze over in the cold, yet he could not take his gaze away from the sight before him. Framed, like something straight out of a novel. An entire village wiped off the map, countless lives lost, simply for the gain of the enemy.

"...Holy _shit_ , dude..." Rusty remarked.

An alpha beowolf in the village below turned its head to the horrified group on the hill. It howled, and the entire pack abandoned the village to tear up the hillside.

Twilight Crusade's terror and disbelief replaced itself with anxious focus on the approaching creatures. Azure, Raven, and Dustyn picked off several grimm with their ranged weapons as the beasts advanced. More gunfire erupted as they ran within range of Greyson and Pierce. The alpha beowolf jumped at Greyson. He dodged to the side, sending up a cloud of snow. With Nimbus, he slashed across the pack leader's side. With Blitz, he blew off the upper half of its head.

Ezelia cleaved a beowolf down the middle, and Dustyn hopped in to protect her, seeing her pause for a second to investigate the mess she had left of the unfortunate creature. The beowolf chomped down on the middle of Boomstick, and tried to shake the weapon from its opponents hands.

"Babe!? A little help!?" Dustyn called, looking over his shoulder frantically.

"Huh? Oh, I gotcha!" Ezelia casually responded. With a grin, she let the beowolf meet the same fate as its packmate.

Pierce and Ember ran down the hill toward the approaching beowolves as quickly as their coats, the ravaging winds, and the deep snow, would allow. Pierce disappeared into a cloud of black smoke to evade the savage bite of a beowolf. He reappeared over its neck, and pulled his blades past each other to decapitate the monster. He kicked the body out from under him and backflipped over a second one he heard approaching from behind. A spray of bullets from Spade, and a flurry of steel from Ember, secured the grimm's fate. Once he hit the ground, Pierce quickly finished off four more beowolves. Ember helped, as well as slashing through a pair of creeps that worked their way into the horde.

Alexandra was having a much tougher time dealing with the oncoming grimm. She managed, without Crown Jewel, to send a jagged spire of ice through one creep, but that was her single achievement. A beowolf jumped toward her, gleaming claws swishing through the air toward their target. Taking a deep breath, Alexandra imagined Kita's blade instead.

" _The moment I fear my enemy is the moment I've lost._ "

Alexandra turned toward the attack, bringing the White Fang cutlass across her body. The beowolf screeched as its severed arm sunk into the snow behind Alexandra. Her brief moment of personal celebration was interrupted by the beowolf's crimson jaws opening wider than her head, charging forward viciously.

Alexandra shrieked as she struck upward. The bite was interrupted by a blade to the jaw, but Alexandra too stumbled backward. A stray crag caught her ankle, and she began a painful reverse somersault down the steep, craggy, hill. The creature of grimm she fought before took to all fours as it followed her, drooling like a predator closing in on prey.

Alexandra's eyes closed, and her body tensed as she braced for the beast's jaws. Yet, all she heard was a blade slicing deep into flesh.

Kita had forced Kenakuma into the beast's lower back, until only the handle stuck behind it. She twisted until the blade faced upward, and tore it toward the sky. Kenakuma exited through the beast's right shoulder, and Kita yelled as she brought her blade across its body once more, leaving the creature in thirds at her feet. She sheathed her weapon.

"Whoa, you... destroyed that thing," Alexandra marvelled.

"I wished to make sure it was dead," Kita replied.

Alexandra smiled. "Well, thanks," she said. "Really, we don't deserve someone like you, always going around and saving people."

"That's all of them!" Greyson declared. "We need to look for survivors!"

Greyson carefully but quickly hiked down the slope, into the destroyed village below. The landscape was hellish, like something from a nightmare. The odors of blood and smoke swirled on the blustery winds as Greyson made his way down the now eerily silent streets.

"I feel like I'm going to be sick..." Azure said. "They're all... _murdered._ "

"The Shrouded Fox knew of this place," Kita stated. "It was said to be a warrior village, full of strong huntsmen. Even we knew to never challenge them.

Greyson's gaze swept in front of him, to the bodies and weapons littering the streets. Several huts had what appeared to be stray bullets lodged in them. He knelt next to a body of a man, who lay facing away from him. With a shaking hand, Greyson grabbed its shoulder and pulled until its empty gaze trained on the white sky above.

Greyson pulled back in disgust, barely suppressing a scream of horror.

Brutal burns had scorched much of the man's face and torso, burning his clothes off his body. The stench of smoke and decay filled Greyson's nostrils. He stood, facing away from the corpse and wishing, from the bottom of his heart, he could forget the nightmare he had just seen.

Raven, who had gone with Rusty to follow Alexandra down a sidestreet, ran up to Greyson, Azure, and Kita. "O-Over, d-down that street!" she frantically stated. "A-Alexandra found something!"

Just then, the metal head of a cord fastened itself to the building next to Greyson and Azure. Pierce grappled from the sidestreet he scanned with Ember, and landed next to the four. "We found someone alive, but just barely," he reported. "Hurry up, I don't think he'll be able to talk much longer."

"Azure. You take Raven back to Alexandra. I'll go with Kita and Pierce," Greyson commanded. Without another word, he followed Pierce's lead.

After a minute or so, he rounded a corner to see a man crumpled against a smoldering hut, spear by his side. He clutched his stomach as blood leaked through his fingers with every ragged breath.

"Who did this?" Greyson asked vehemently. "Can you tell us what they looked like?"

"There were... only three of them," the dying man reported. "We tried our best to fight them off, but... it- it didn't matter. The one who did this to me, he dressed in red. Brown hair, glasses. I-I tried to fight him, but I couldn't scratch him. His lance and shield, they were too big. Too well-wielded."

Greyson sighed. Deep down, he knew from the second he saw his flag waving falsely in the wind, Vladimir was the one behind these attacks. But still. Hearing it, knowing he was in part responsible for the destruction of the village, made Greyson sick to his stomach.

"When he killed, it's like... I saw my families souls, their auras... being sucked into him. Into th-that... wretched heart of his," the villager struggled. "Don't... don't challenge him."

"He absorbed their souls?" Greyson repeated.

The villager had drawn his last breath.

With a deep breath, Greyson stood. "If Vladimir can absorb souls, we should assume they make him stronger. Especially since these are the souls of a village the Shrouded Fox knows not to fight," he stated.

"When we fought him, back at the Garnetts' place," Pierce began. "You said it felt like he had more aura than before, right?"

"Right," Greyson recalled. "Which means, this wasn't the first time he's killed."

"And it won't be the last," Ember grimly added.

Ten minutes of village searching turned up no more survivors. Twilight Crusade met in the middle, just under their flag. Alexandra found traces of earth and ice dust, the triangular, gem-like patterns signature of Crown Jewel.

"I think there's something I should do..." Rusty commented, voice tinged with irritation. He climbed the hut before him, and wrapped his hands around the pole that held Twilight Crusade's flag. A thick steam arose from them, and Rusty ripped the oxidized metal from where it sat. He threw the flag to the dirt.

Meanwhile, Greyson tried several times to call any form of emergency services. Yet, it seemed no CCTS tower reached this far North of Mistral.

"This is... just like what happened to the Inyan..." Alexandra weakly lamented, sitting limply in the snow. Tears leaked from her eyes. "But, Crown Jewel is being used to kill. I should have protected it. This is my fault, isn't it?"

"It's not," Greyson assured. "You did everything in your power to keep it away from her. Now, we have to do everything in our power to get Crown Jewel back."

"We must warn other villages!" Kita implored. "There are many in the area, and the Shrouded Fox is a days' walk North!"

"We should let the military, or _someone_ know," Ember suggested. "It wouldn't be the best idea to be flying around burning villages with our flag popping up all over the place."

"Let's get back to the ship, and warn the nearest villages. And let's get to the Shrouded Fox," Greyson said. "But Ember's right. We need to let someone know this isn't us."

Twilight Crusade trudged back up the hill, and to their airship. The winds had calmed some, but the air was still dangerously cold, bringing a consistent snowfall. After a few minutes of clearing snow from the airship's windshield and engines, Greyson lifted the ship into the sky. As he began to fly North, Greyson squinted in confusion at the radar screen. Two dots, evenly spaced, approached from the East.

Clearing the crest of a hill a mile away, a Mistrali air force pilot looked deeply into the holographic screen between him and his copilot. The screen zoomed in, clearly displaying Twilight Crusade's symbol.

"Run the analysis between this and the flag," the pilot ordered. "I'll try and get closer."

"Yes sir," his copilot confirmed. With several seconds of silence, the pilot accelerated toward Twilight Crusade's ship. "...It's a match."

The pilot poked at his scroll, and cleared his throat.

"Command, this is Lieutenant Gatlin, Northern Squad 3. We've confirmed the target. Permission to fire?"

"Permission granted."


	36. V3: Akuno Forest

The warning alarm's shrill, frequent, beep filled the cabin. Greyson's focus on the now flashing radar intensified, and he swore. Four dots, two leaving each larger radar blip, hurdled toward Twilight Crusade's ship. He clutched the control stick and punched it forward, gluing his friends to the back of their seats as the ship vigorously accelerated.

"Why- What's going on?" Azure shrieked.

"Nothing. Just sit tight, and buckle up," Greyson ordered staunchly.

The clicks of his friends fastening their seatbelts offered Greyson little assurance as the military's missiles became visible in the passengers' side window. He wrenched the second control stick forward and the ship plunged downward. Greyson grinned in a split second of celebration as two missiles careened over his window.

The pride replaced itself with horror.

Glass shattered throughout the airship's cabin as a missile connected with the back of the ship, tearing off the hind wings. The warning alarm intensified to a blaring screech. The ship hurdled toward the ground in a smoking spiral. Alexandra screamed and put her arms around Kita, burying her face in her friend's shoulder. Kita clutched the seat and froze in fear, but held one arm across Alexandra's to provide limited comfort. Dustyn and Ezelia held each other tightly, shutting their eyes. Rusty, who often became motion-sick, became ill on the floor of the cabin. Even Pierce held an arm out to Ember's shoulder in worry.

Fighting the ship's momentum that threatened to throw him hundreds of feet to the rocky crags below, Greyson jumped on the control stick and put his entire weight into steering the airship into a nearby mountain thick with snow.

Just before impact, Raven's semblance overtook her body. As the crunch of snow and ship alike, and the cacophony of broken glass filled Twilight Crusade's ears, black surrounded them. Greyson could feel the airship jostle for several seconds, as if settling at the base of the hill.

When Greyson opened his eyes, the blackness receded. Greyson watched in awe as holographic wings retracted back into Raven's body. "Is... is everyone okay?" he asked.

"I'm... we're alive!" Alexandra exclaimed.

"My wrist isn't feeling so good, but I don't think it's broken..." Dustyn noted.

"I'll look at it when we're a little safer," Azure offered. "I don't think I'm injured."

"Oh, damn it..." Ember groaned. "I fell in Rusty's mess. Anyone have a spare coat?"

"Raven, you saved us!" Rusty cheered, ignoring Ember.

"I-I what?" Raven asked, looking dazed. "We landed?"

As the others filled Raven in on what had happened, Greyson worked his way out of a broken window, carefully avoiding the shards of broken glass. He looked around. Thick forests surrounded the ship save for one side, the face of the hill Twilight Crusade's airship landed on. Snow and ice had been torn up in a path to the bottom, fragments of the ship littering the way. Greyson knew the hunk of metal would never fly again.

They were trapped in the infamously unforgiving wilderness of Northern Mistral.

"Are we _really_ stuck out here?" Alexandra lamented as she worked her way out the same window. "Damn it! It's freezing!"

Kita exited the other side of the ship. "This is an unfortunate time of year, yes. But I know much about these forests."

"We should move," Greyson suggested rigidly. "Mistral might still be after us, and judging by what just happened, they don't care about taking us alive."

The rest of Twilight Crusade worked themselves out of the crash, and began to salvage what was left of their belongings. Everyone's weapons, A couple tents, a few days' food, and enough coats for each back was all that survived.

Greyson heard an indistinct drone from behind the hill, and apprehension worked its way into his mind. The noise slowly became louder, until a massive airship appeared over the hill's crest. The ship whipped up a flurry of powder as it turned, revealing an open door, where two miniguns aimed in Twilight Crusade's direction.

"Run!" Greyson commanded.

The uproar of blazing guns shattered the near-peace of the forest. Greyson heard several bullets fly past his head with a screech, sending up puffs of snow as they lodged in the ground. Branches above splintered. The snow beneath Greyson''s feet threatened to pull him in with each step, adding to the adrenaline coursing through his body.

After running for what felt like years, until Greyson's lungs felt as if they were about to tear out of his chest, the frigid air fell silent. Greyson looked around. All of his friends were alive and uninjured, heads surrounded by the fog of their rapid breaths.

Before, the forest was alive with sounds of the hardier animals that remained in the area during the Winter. Now, the wilderness was eerily quiet. Many trees of the area had died and rotted away, but a thick canopy still coated the area in relative darkness.

"Lieutenant Gatlin, Northern Squad three reporting in. Targets' airship confirmed down, but targets fled. They have entered Akuno Forest. Course of action?"

A chuckle broke out from the other end of the airship captain's radio. "Let them flee for now. If they're in Akuno forest, our work's done."

"Yes sir."

Meanwhile, Greyson sat on the snowy ground, back propped up against a tree. Exhaustedly, he popped handfuls of fresh snow into his mouth.

"Hey, sweetie? I don't think it's best you eat that..." Azure cautiously advised, taking a seat next to him.

"I heard it's actually dehydrating, but that doesn't make sense. It's water," Greyson replied. He popped in another handful. He turned his head to the side away from Azure, where he thought he heard whispers. Pierce and Ember stood, scanning their surroundings. Greyson noticed a slight flick in Pierce's raccoon ears, and assumed Ember had made some note aside to him.

"Actually... that one's a myth," Azure admitted. "But it'll bring down your core body temperature. And there _has_ to be germs in it. We should boil it before drinking any."

"How will we do that? Everything's frozen over, all the fuel's wet," Greyson muttered.

"There is a particular stone, which can be found underground. Striking it can create a spark," Kita responded from past Azure.

"Even without Crown Jewel, I can probably turn a spark to a flame," Alexandra offered.

Greyson heard another chorus of whispers, this time from Azure's side.

"Good. But does anyone else hear that?" Greyson inquired.

"Sounds like whispers?" Pierce replied, turning to face him. "I heard them too. Been trying to tell what the hell's making that noise, but I don't see anything."

"That's, uh... that's not good," Rusty said.

"It's not me creepin' you guys out this time, I swear!" Alexandra exclaimed.

Greyson stood, and pulled Nimbus from its sheath. "We should move," he directed. "We should travel until just before sundown. Hopefully we'll find somewhere less creepy."

Twilight Crusade marched on. Alexandra trained her dust-wielding by covering the group's prints with fresh snow. The deeper they travelled into the forest, the darker, more eerie it became. Greyson knew they were in the mountains, but everything seemed remarkably flat, each section of the woods repeating the last with an additional level of shade.

The whispers behind them grew louder.

"Hey. Look behind us," Pierce stiffly advised.

Out of a section of forest now choked in darkness, a terrifying creature of grimm sailed toward Twilight Crusade. Greyson only made out a pair of piercing red eyes at first, but soon saw the spectre in its entirety. It was vaguely humanlike, with an emaciated-looking head, armored by red-lined white plates at its neck. Its shoulders and chest were similarly armored. Below its waist, the being faded. It floated without legs, with nothing more than a thick haze of darkness floating behind.

The most horrifying part of the peculiar creature was its arms. Rather, the jagged, razor-sharp blades mounted on each. Both blades were nearly the width of the creature's shoulders, but nearly twice as long. Typical of grimm, they were white. The deep red marks seemed darker than the red of most grimm, and followed no distinct pattern. The marks looked to be splatters of dried blood.

"What in the _hell_ is that?" Rusty cried.

Greyson grit his teeth, and fired a lightning bolt between the creature's eyes as it came within range. It vanished, and darkness overcame the group. The whispers intensified, until they felt as if they had infiltrated Greyson's own mind. Still, Greyson could discern no words.

A scream brought him back into reality. Azure's.

The creature had transformed, fully taking a human shape. It was covered in white armor, with a lance of deep red and a massive white shield. Its deep red eyes were accurate of a human face, but its mouth was much larger, with jagged teeth and crimson maw.

It thrusted its lance at Azure, who hopped backward out of fear and fired a beam of dust from her Moonbow. The creature it blocked easily, along with two slashes from Raven's sword. It parried a downward strike from Ezelia with its lance, and bashed her to the floor with its shield. The beast of human shape stomped toward her as she struggled to stand, and raised its lance. Dustyn rushed to her side, shaking arms feebly holding Boomstick defensively.

Alexandra shouted as she thrust her cutlass into an unarmored section of the beast's back, and slashed downward. The monster screeched in pain, momentarily fading into a black cloud before retaking another human shape. This time, a woman's. The face was unrecognizable, but between the armored "skin," black dress, and crown, Alexandra knew just what the beast had become. She breathed heavily in terror, and backed away slowly as the grimm woman shrieked in an uncanny, nearly human cry.

Before the grimm could advance, Ember lodged a dagger in its back. It shrieked again as she twisted. After several seconds, Ember felt the resistance of the grimm's body give way, as it once again faded into a mist. It settled on the ground, and spread itself thin before lashing upward with flamelike tendrils. Greyson winced as one passed by his leg, and he felt something he never thought he would in the forests of Yamakori: the pain of searing heat.

Two black forms arose from the darkness below. One took the shape of a muscular cat, about the height of a car and the length of two. It walked on six armored legs, with an armored spine trailing down its back to its two tails, whiplike with a spike-covered ball on the end of each. The second form was slightly larger, taking the form of a massive dog, plated in white with three viciously snapping heads.

The three-headed canine grimm howled, and the monstrosities charged forward.


	37. V3: Beasts of Below

**First of all, I'm really sorry I took so long to update! College life has been pretty busy recently, but I'll try to speed things up a bit.**

As the two beasts charged forward, Kita drew her blade and guarded Alexandra. She looked to her, making eye contact through the slits in her mask. "This is your first real battle with a sword, yes? Stay near me, and watch what I do," she advised. She closed her eyes for several seconds as the three-headed dog charged Greyson and Azure, and the catlike monster lunged at Pierce. Kita's eyes opened, and a soft red glow coated several thin lines across the canine grimm's body. The red deepened at the base of each neck. "The dog beast is weakest at the base of its necks! The areas between armor plates are also weak!" she reported.

" _Strange... I see no weak points for the panther-like grimm. But it does not have nearly as much armor..._ " Kita pondered.

"Got it!" Greyson confirmed. He rolled out of the way of a vicious bite from one of three heads, but winced in pain as he felt the heat of the grimm that had seemingly transformed its body into a pool of fire. He got up, and sprinted around the beast's right side to find an opening. Before he could land a blow, a shadow crossed in front of him.

Whistling through the air, a whiplike tail crashed into Greyson's gut, and sent him in a tumble across the inexplicably hot ground before coming to rest at the foot of a nearby pine. The beast screamed like an angry wildcat, and jumped at Greyson.

"Get back!" Azure yelled. She grit her teeth, widened her stance, and drew her bow. She let fly a flurry of dust beams, all colliding with their target. The monster paused its assault, shaking off the blows before charging at the group. Raven charged toward the beast, and aimed a brutal swing across its side. She knew she saw the blade sink into flesh.

Yet, no resistance. Her swing crashed into the ground as if she had missed by a foot, and cast a cloud of powdery snow several feet into the air. She barely had time to raise her shield before a vicious tail attack sent her flying as well.

Meanwhile, Pierce led the charge against the bulky three-headed grimm, which Ember had affectionately dubbed "Cerberus." He grappled down from a tall pine, tearing through the air to leave a deep gash up the exposed blackness next to its spine. Pierce disappeared into a dark haze as a pair of jaws the size of himself snapped together. He reappeared, kicked off the monster's head, and dodged in midair the pouncing body of the smaller feline grimm. He transformed Spade into its automatic pistol form, and sprayed. He watched in confusion as his bullets seemingly passed through the creature, leaving it unphased.

"What the hell? I know I hit that thing..." Pierce noted in irritation as he landed. He grappled to Greyson, who was being helped to his feet by Azure. "We need to separate these two. Otherwise it'll be damn near impossible to fight them."

"They're proving to be pretty tough, huh," Greyson admitted. "Got it. You lead against the cat-thing. Take who you want, I think it's the stronger of the two."

Pierce nodded. "Azure. I'll need your range," he said. He looked toward the battle, pausing to consider his options. "I'll take Kita too, the three of us should be fine."

"I'd rather work with Greyson..." Azure muttered.

Pierce's raccoon ears pulled backward. "You'll see him after. There's a greater chance the two of you will live if you come with me."

Alexandra followed Kita, as she joined Pierce and Azure to lure the ferocious wildcat a safe distance away. As Greyson ran forward to rejoin the battle against "Cerberus," he analyzed the situation. Ember danced around the beast, leaving slashes and twisting blades between its plates of armor. Dustyn attacked with explosive shots, aiming for weak points with only moderate success. Rusty distracted and obstructed the beast with Child's Play, providing openings for Raven and Ezelia to mount a frontal attack.

Greyson charged in, and left a slash in the grimm's right leg with Nimbus. Using Blitz, he fired a shotgun blast into the side of its rightmost head, and fired a second where the armor cracked. He travelled down the length of its body, thunderous blasts leaving cracks in the bony plates of armor.

On the other side, Raven held back the creature's jaws with her shield. Every inch of her strength held the beast's head in place, as she looked from the jagged, six-inch teeth to the crimson, beady eyes of the hound. A buzzing sound behind herself let her know to hop out of the way, but leave her shield behind. Ezelia let loose a devastating blast of fire dust from Grimm Cat, leaving a massive hole out the back of the head. It slumped, but the other two heads howled in fury.

"I've got the next one too!" Ezelia shouted. "Rusty! Can you wrap its head?"

"I'll try!" Rusty returned. His first attempt fell short, instead coming down on top of the grimm's head. Dodging backward to avoid a brutal lunge left an opening. Rusty shouted as he threw Child's Play once more. This time, it wrapped around the beast's neck. The head of Child's Play dug deep into the dark flesh.

"Any time now!" Rusty struggled, every ounce of his energy invested in preventing the beast from violently shaking his grip.

"Coming!" Ezelia answered. Dustyn shot an explosive blast at her feet, and she took to the sky. She slammed down Grimm Cat's axe form on the beast's neck, cleaving it off like a medieval executioner.

Before the beast could do anything beside screech in pain from its last remaining mouth, Greyson sent a bolt of lightning from Nimbus straight through the gaping maw. Cerberus crumpled, dead.

Pierce and the feline grimm pursued each other across the treetops for minutes, both constantly alternating between the roles of predator and prey. Kita and Alexandra were left with little to do. Azure fired several arrows, but even the ones that seemed to hit left little effect.

Pierce suddenly appeared from a fog just above the grimm, leaving a myriad of slashes down its back. The creature screamed with fury, and managed to wrap him in one of his tails. It flung him toward the ground, but he grappled to a tree just before impact. He used his momentum to propel himself upward, nearly to the canopy. As he felt the split-second weightlessness at the top of his trajectory, he fired a single shot from Ace. The blast entered through the back of the monster's head, and left a cloud of snow upon reaching the ground.

The grimm was unharmed.

" _Now this thing's_ _ **really**_ _pissing me off,_ " Pierce thought. " _It's like it's not even there sometimes..._ "

A piercing red gaze fixed on Pierce, and he grappled toward the ground. He swung around a tree, whistling through the air toward his target. He saw the spiked head of the creature's tail coming his way, and dodged a body length to the side.

Pierce felt both a crushing blow, and a stabbing pain in his stomach as the air was knocked out of his lungs. He looked to the side in desperate confusion. The tail, the only one extended toward him, had stopped five feet to his right. The tip ripped viciously downward, and Pierce felt the scratch of several blades across his stomach before being thrust into the base of a thick pine.

The dark green hue of his aura rippled across his body, completely spent.

"That did not seem to have hit!" Kita noted.

Alexandra watched on. She looked up to the stray bit of stark white sky breaking through the canopy, then back down. She pulled back, in what looked to be sudden realization.

"The shadow... it's not right," Alexandra noted.

"What do you mean?" Kita inquired.

"The way the light is angled, there's no way the grimm's shadow can be there! Trust me, I've told time using the Sun for years!" Alexandra exclaimed.

The beast turned to Kita, Alexandra, and Azure, after a beam of fire dust drew its attention. It began to charge.

"If I'm right..." Alexandra began. She raised her cutlass above her head.

"Then the beast should be here!"

She hurled her cutlass through the air. The throw looked to be wide right, but the cutlass halted tip-first in the air as a pained screech echoed through the silent forest. The beast flickered out like a light where it stood, and appeared five feet to its side with Alexandra's blade stuck between its eyes. A single beam from Azure's Moonbow pierced its body, and the beast fell to the ground.

The black fire underneath Twilight Crusade retracted, once again forming the bladed spectre. With an eerie hiss, it retreated into the darkness. The darkness of the woods felt as if it lifted slightly.

"Hey, how was that? I helped out!" Alexandra proudly exclaimed, turning to Kita.

"Willingly losing your only weapon is a reckless strategy that I would strongly advise against," Kita gently reprimanded. She took off her mask, and saw the disappointed look on Alexandra's face. "...But I suppose it worked. Do be more careful in the future." Kita and Alexandra met up with Azure, who was only a small distance away, and trudged through the snow to meet up with the rest of the group.

"So, what in the hell did we just fight?" Rusty asked. "I mean, a three-headed dog? I've only read about stuff like that."

"First of all, where's Pierce?" Ember inquired.

"I'm over here, thanks for caring," Pierce called, limping slightly toward the group from behind Azure. He pointed at her. "Greyson gets a papercut and she's all over him. I get the shit beaten out of me, get flung six stories downward into a tree, and she leaves me."

"You're always on about how strong you are, I'm letting you be the part," Azure snapped. "More importantly, let's talk about the grimm."

"If we ever end up against one of those cat-things again, aim five feet or so to one of its sides if your shots miss! It can, like... project itself or something?" Alexandra noted excitedly. "Watch its shadow, that's how I figured it out!"

"Nicely done, but we should talk about the one that got away," Greyson suggested. "What _was_ that thing?

"It turned into Vladimir when it encountered Azure, and it looked like Mrs. Garnett when it turned on Alex," Ember recalled. "Grimm feed off fear, so maybe this one takes it a step further."

"...It turns into our biggest fears?" Azure guessed.

"Right," Ember confirmed.

"So you're afraid of... fire, Ember?" Rusty asked innocently. "Huh. That's kinda ironic!"

Ember sighed. Eyes downcast, fixing on the snow at her feet.

"That was how I imagine Hell to look."

"Oh..." Rusty softly replied. "Sorry... I- I didn't know you were religious or anything..."

"I'm not," Ember answered, voice carrying slightly more strength than before. "It's more of a 'what if," really. If there is an afterlife, I know where I'm headed."

"You're a good person, Ember!" Azure contested. "I think about that time last year where you saved my life almost every day!"

"Hey, think of all the grimm you've killed!" Dustyn offered. "If you hunt grimm, you're at least a _little_ good, right?"

" _Think of all the_ _ **people**_ _I've killed. Even Vladimir hunts grimm,_ " Ember thought. "...Yeah, sure," she rigidly replied. "Look, we should get walking. The sun's setting. We need to find a place to rest for the night, and there's no way we're camping here."


	38. V3: The Grey Knight

"As of this morning, the huntsman group Twilight Crusade has been named the primary suspect in the incident at Chikara Village," Mistral News' lead anchor read off his teleprompter. Greyson's Beacon Academy picture flashed onto the screen behind him. "The leader of this group is known as Greyson Skye. If you see this man, contact authorities immediately. Authorities warn not to approach him, as he is known to be armed and extremely-"

Rusty's father shut off the television, unable to hear another word.

"I... There's no way I could imagine him to do this. He always seemed like a good kid! I couldn't imagine any of them doing this!" Rusty's mother lamented. "Rusty and Raven are out there with him..."

"My first thought was that they got caught up in something they shouldn't have up there," Mr. Braun replied hollowly. "Now, I... I hope that's the case."

"...dangerous. The suspects were last seen fleeing Mistral operatives into the Akuno forests of Northern Mistral," the reporter continued in Greyson's house. Azure's Beacon Academy picture, along with Rusty's, and a screenshot from Alexandra's interview after the Harvest Festival, took up most of the screen. "Also known to be working with the crew are Azure Ozeen, pictured far right, Rusty Braun, top middle, and Alexandra Ité, far left. However, the fiancée of one of Twilight Crusade's members claims she has been abducted."

The news cut to an interview. Standing in front of his parents, look of feigned distraught painted across his face, was Vladimir Garnett. "I know Azure wouldn't do this on her own! She's being forced to, I know it!" he convincingly plead. "She was abducted at the Fall of Beacon. Please bring her back, I would do anything to see that smile again!"

Mr. Skye's eyes widened a bit in recognition. After the fight at the Garnett manor, Greyson had shown his family the best picture of Vladimir he could find, and described his parents. Greyson instructed his family that if the Garnetts ever showed themselves, that they would go somewhere far out of harm's way.

"That's the guy they've been having problems with, I know it is..." Mr. Skye commented. He shook his head slowly, suspicion flooding his mind. "This isn't right. A gut feeling's all I have, but it's a strong one."

Far North, Twilight Crusade had set up camp next to a river for the night, about half a mile West of a village they had seen in the dying daylight. As morning came, Dustyn and Ezelia made their way into the village to warn them, as Greyson believed the two to be the least likely known members of the group.

The pair cautiously entered through the front gate of the village, which seemed to be in its early stages of waking up. Only a couple of chimneys spouted smoke, with a few more homes showing lit windows. A handful of villagers walked about, mostly ignoring the outsiders. Ezelia led Dustyn down the cobblestone street to a notice board, hoping for a map. Instead, pictures of Twilight Crusade's known members had been plastered across the board. Rusty, Alexandra, and Azure all had clear pictures of themself posted. Kita had apparently been seen as well, but her face was masked in the only picture presented. Greyson's was largest of all.

"WANTED, DEAD OR ALIVE

GREYSON SKYE

250,000 LIEN REWARD"

"Damn, that's a lot of money," Dustyn noted under his breath. He cracked a sly smile. "We could bring him in ourselves, 125,000 lien apiece isn't bad!"

"I've been called a lot of things, but I'm no trai-" Ezelia started loudly. She was cut off by the sound of a man exhaling loudly behind her. "Trader. I'm not a merchant, so I don't care about money! We're just travelers!" Ezelia corrected.

" _Nice save,_ " Dustyn thought, relief washing over his body.

"Travelers, huh?" the villager echoed. "This far North, you've either gotta be brave er nuts to be out travelin'. As long as you ain't one of those Twilight Crusade goons, yer welcome to stay for a bit!"

"Thank you, sir," Dustyn replied. "We actually stopped by to warn you guys of what's been going on, but it looks like you already know."

"Know any other places around here that might need warning?" Ezelia asked innocently.

"Well, I reckon there's Nibanme, just a tad North and a couple days' walk East. They're our closest neighbors, but they may know about them Twilight Crusaders too."

"Actually, I've heard a thing or two in some of the other villages," Dustyn bravely began. "There's a rumor Twilight Crusade's been framed, it's actually someone else!"

The villager side-eyed Dustyn with cold caution.

"...Eyewitness reports don't match up with known members of Twilight Crusade! Like, at all!" Ezelia chimed in.

"They don' leave witnesses," the villager grumbled. He glanced around, looking at the circle of people who had left their homes in curiosity toward the outsiders. "I advise you. You'd best travel on outta here, and you'd best not be caught talkin' good about Twilight Crusade anywhere else. Them's murderers."

"Hey, but-" Ezelia began. Dustyn's sudden, tight grip on her shoulder let her know to cut her losses, and leave immediately. "...yes sir," she finally concluded.

For the rest of the day, Twilight Crusade hiked through the forest in the direction specified by the man in the village. They followed the frozen path of, what was in Summer months, a creek. The group encountered only a handful of grimm along the way, and the weather was frigid but otherwise fair. If anyone bothered look, the rugged mountains on each side piercing the blue sky far above the pine canopy would have made for a breathtaking sight.

Eventually, the Sun set. Though the group walked for most of the day, Greyson felt no closer to the goal. Twilight Crusade camped at a small clearing next to the frozen river they had followed all day, with a couple of fallen logs volunteering themselves as makeshift chairs. Kita found flint to create a spark, which Alexandra coaxed into a flame. A few sat around it and conversed as the others set up tents for the night. Greyson was slightly uneasy at first, concerned their fire may attract Mistral's military, but neither heard nor saw anything out of the ordinary. Still, he continued the tradition of Twilight Crusade's members taking hourly shifts watching the camp.

There was one member of Twilight Crusade who could not sleep, no matter how hard she tried, and how much she tried to relax. Alexandra lay under both her and Kita's coats, along with a sleeping bag, shivering violently. Cold enveloped her body, which had been born, raised, and grown under scorching desert Sun. She felt numb to her core, trembling against the cold that nearly reduced her to tears.

"Alexandra, are you still awake?" Kita inquired. She had returned back to the tent to wake Ember for her shift.

"Y-Y-Yeah," Alexandra replied with a quivering jaw.

"You seem cold," Kita noted.

Alexandra replied by curing tighter into a ball.

Kita woke Ember, then returned to the tent's entrance with Kenakuma still sheathed at her hip. "W-Where are you going?" Alexandra asked.

"I am going to find something for you," Kita answered cryptically. She disappeared deep into the forest, until Ember noticed her returning with a massive strip of tree bark slung over her shoulder about ten minutes into her shift. Kita held the bark over what was left of the dying fire for several minutes, listening to its cracks and pops until the bark achieved a leathery texture and was warm to the touch.

"Are you still awake?" Kita softly asked, careful not to wake the possibly-sleeping Alexandra, or any of the others.

"Mm-hm," Alexandra bitterly confirmed.

"Is your back or front colder?" Kita continued. She stepped into the tent, and zipped the door behind herself. She set the bark down, and worked off her belt and skirt.

"All of me..." Alexandra lamented. "...I guess my back. I can at least curl up and breathe on myself or something in the front."

Kita nodded in affirmation, and knelt behind her friend. She slowly laid behind her, and pulled the leathery bark over the two of them. Alexandra went rigid as Kita pulled herself closer, and Alexandra felt the back of her body make full contact with the front of Kita's, from chest to knee. Kita's lower arm slid in through the gap between Alexandra's head, shoulder, and pillow, and her other arm wrapped Alexandra's upper stomach. She warmed up instantly until she was nearly uncomfortable. Partially due to the blanket, and partially due to the warm body behind her.

Mostly due to the fact Kita had willingly cuddled up to her..

"Does this make you uncomfortable?" Kita whispered. "Your heart rate increased."

"Uh- no..." Alexandra managed unconvincingly. "This is fine. I'm... I'm warm!"

"Good," Kita answered. She said no more. She lay for several minutes, and could not stop a slight smile from tracing across her lips as Alexandra relaxed completely. Her heart rate faded back to normal, and her breaths began to come slowly and evenly, each one breathing deep. Soon, Kita too had fallen asleep.

Greyson and Azure both woke before the rest of their friends, and decided to take a walk along the path they had already travelled. They admired the scenery as they passed under the semi-familiar pines, between boulders and brush. After a while, Greyson fell silent, involuntarily prompting Azure to ask what was wrong.

"I'm just really sorry," Greyson admitted. "Because of me, you're suffering out here. We're stuck in the wilderness, and I don't even know if we can ever get out. Even if we do, someone will hunt us down."

"It's not your fault," Azure gently argued. "I don't know how many times I've had to tell you that something isn't your fault."

"If I never forced you guys to make Twilight Crusade with me, you wouldn't be out here, stuck in this mess," Greyson insisted.

"We all _agreed_ to be part of Twilight Crusade," Azure adamantly reminded. "You didn't force us to do anything. And do you know what my alternative is? I would have been married to Vladimir by now." She cringed, hardly able to utter her next words. "I would be pregnant with whatever devil child he wanted to make with me. I'd prefer being stuck out in the cold with you to living in a palace with him."

Greyson gave a defeated smile. "I don't know what I did in some past life to deserve someone like you, but I'm glad I did it," he joked.

"Actually, that reminds me of something..." Azure remembered. "You remember the story I told you, about Princess Amaranth and the Grey Knight, right? Aren't we strangely similar to them?"

"Your rich parents forbid you from dating anyone, and arranged a marriage with some terrible guy. You found some other guy way below your status that you liked," Greyson recalled. "Yeah, there are some similarities."

Azure sighed. "This might sound... _really_ silly," she admitted. "But what if some fairy tales are more than just fairy tales?"

Greyson stopped walking. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"What if Princess Amaranth and the Grey Knight is a true story, destined to repeat throughout history because of some higher power?" Azure blurted. "Maybe it's not just that tale, but- I don't know, the four maidens, too?"

Greyson chuckled. "Well, you're right that it sounds silly," he stated. "But part of me hopes it's true. That way we'd get our happy ending."

 **Author's Note: Princess Amaranth and the Grey Knight is published to my account, if you want a reminder.**


	39. V3: Mountain's Wrath

Far South, somewhere in the garishly luxurious neighborhoods of Mistral Kingdom, the Garnett family sat around a massive mahogany table. Their butler had laid out a feast before them for supper, yet it had been hardly touched. The magnificent chandelier above the table cast dim light around the room, revealing eerily lifelike paintings of the family's distant ancestors. Above the fireplace hung the only clues toward any disreputable deeds within the entire mansion. An ornate dagger was mounted above Crown Jewel.

"Have we heard anything about Twilight Crusade yet?" Vladimir asked, an edge of impatience in his voice.

"Nothing yet, son," Mr. Garnett answered. "Regrettably, Mistral's military stopped its attack as they fled into Akuno forest."

"And why?" Vladimir asked. "Some grimm won't stop them. We _have_ to kill them ourselves! And bring Azure back. My sweet, sweet wife..."

"We have to be patient," Mrs. Garnett advised. "I want them too. Our sacrifice, and that desert mouse... they're both so _youthful._ They would take _years_ off my skin."

"Why do we have to be patient!?" Vladimir demanded, causing his fork to jitter and clank as he pounded the table. "You keep telling me this, but why? Why haven't we released their names? Taken their families hostage? We know _everything_ about them!"

"There is already enough suspicion toward us, after Ms. Ozeen and our sacrifice escaped our manor," Mr. Garnett explained. "I will suggest the military mounts another offensive," Mr. Garnett promised. "Perhaps I'll add a couple lien on top of the offer..."

" _I'll kill them myself!_ " Vladimir shouted. "No suspicion there! Just a huntsman bringing in his prey!" he chuckled. "The souls of a hundred warriors live inside me now. _I have the strength of an army!_ "

"You must return to classes," Mr. Garnett insisted, calm tone ignoring his son's mounting frenzy. A sly grin came to his face. "I'll speed things up myself as well. Perhaps we'll strike another village."

"May we harvest one with more children this time?" Mrs Garnett asked guiltlessly. "I've been seeing wrinkles under my eyes."

Two days had passed, and Greyson was uncertain whether the villager's rough directions had been truth, or a ploy to get the group lost deep in the Yamakori mountains. For the most part, forests had given way to bare glacier and rock. The air was even colder, and the wind harsher. Jagged mountains scratched the sky to each side of the valley. Though she still acted as Twilight Crusade's guide, not even Kita had ever dared venture so far North.

At the end of the second day of walking, Greyson decided the group hike to a cleft visible on a mountain to their right. He figured, given the wind direction, it would be sheltered from the brunt of the storm. Its height would also provide a view, should the blizzard-like wind ever let up enough to grant more than a couple hundred feet of visibility.

Greyson slept uneasily throughout the night, waking several times before and after being woken up for his hour-long shift. He left the tent as dawn broke, and, as the wind had let up, scanned his surroundings. Over the edge of a mountain far East, Greyson noticed a pillar of smoke rising into the sky.

He knew it was his goal.

The moment of excitement vanished, and his unease returned. From the opposite direction, five Mistral airships hovered into view, their V-formation covering the width of the glacial valley. Greyson backtracked slowly at first, keeping his eyes on the approaching ships before breaking into a sprint. He ripped the door to the tent open, immediately waking Ember and Raven.

"Mistral's here!" he shouted, waking Azure and Rusty. He heard rustling in the other tent as well. "Get up! We're getting out of here!"

The members of Twilight Crusade piled out of their respective tents, donning their coats, folding their bedding, and packing away leftover food hastily. Greyson looked above, and swore. Soldiers clad in white dropped from the ships, rifles in hand. Most landed at the base of the hill, blocking Twilight Crusade's escape.

A barrage of bullets rained from the ships, lodging themselves in the snow dangerously close to Greyson and his companions.

"Run! Down the hill!" Greyson commanded. He waited for the others to pass, and followed them down. "Defend yourself, dodge, do whatever! Just don't fight back!" Greyson demanded.

"Targets are armed and extremely dangerous!" a white-clad soldier shouted. "Lethal force authorized on all targets, other than the blonde! Repeat, DO _NOT_ shoot the girl in the blue coat!"

Raven led the charge, shield drawn. Next to her was Ezelia, blunt edge of Grimm Cat providing ample cover. Just behind them, Alexandra hung close to Kita in fear, who deflected shots deftly with Kenakuma. Raven and Ezelia yelled in unison as they thrust a pair of Mistral infantrymen to the snow, and continued forward.

"Raven! Ezelia! Switch to the rear!" Greyson commanded. He ducked under a bayonet jab, and split his foe's weapon in half with a thunderous blast from Nimbus before continuing down the mountain. He winced as a shot connected with his shoulder, depleting much of his aura.

"There's so much ice here, I should be able to do _something,"_ Alexandra pondered. She stopped suddenly, letting the others pass. Kita stood by her side as she raised her arms toward the attackers. Slowly, a wall of ice began to form between Twilight Crusade and the military. When the wall rose above the height of an average man's head, Kita pulled at Alexandra's arm, and the two caught up with the rest of their allies.

"Take it down!" a man's voice yelled. A few seconds later, a thunderous blast nearly knocked Greyson to the ground. He looked behind him as the noise echoed through the valley.

A blast from a portable dust cannon had downed Alexandra's wall, reducing it to a cloud of ice splinters. The soldiers charged forward, some kneeling to take shots from afar. Even they seemed to cease as the ground began to rumble, and an unsettling clatter began to arise. A crunching, gravelly noise. Quiet at first, but quickly becoming deafening. Greyson looked up the mountain.

A wall of white two stories tall tore down the slope, faster than Greyson could hope to get away.

"Greyson!" Azure shouted, voice barely audible above the approaching avalanche. She pulled him, urging him to retreat further down the mountain. He sprinted with her, just behind the rest of his friends. He did not dare peer over his shoulder. The roaring, accompanied with a cacophony of splintering wood, filled his ears, barely unsuccessful in drowning out the screams of Mistral's soldiers. The snow under his feet loosened, and he knew the avalanche was at his back.

Greyson felt as if he was shoved to the ground, crushed, and ripped upward within half a second as he lost his grip on Azure's hand. He tumbled further in a world of white, head over feet for half a minute, until he felt he would be violently ill. He heard nothing but the sound of the avalanche.

Eventually, he came to a stop.

" _I'm... alive,_ " he thought. He could open his eyes, as a bubble of air about a foot in diameter surrounded his head. " _Now, which way is up? I'm supposed to spit to figure it out, I think..._ "

Greyson spat. It rose to about six inches above his face before changing direction and splashing back on his cheek.

" _Great, so I'm on my back,_ " he figured.

With a couple minutes' effort, he worked a hand to the surface. Almost instantly, it was grabbed, and he was pulled up. To his relief, Azure stood above him. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold, and a rebellious strand of hair had fallen across her face. Otherwise, she looked fine.

"Greyson! Oh, thank God you're okay!" Azure exclaimed, wrapping Greyson in a tight embrace. "You're fine, right? You're not hurt?"

"Yeah, I'm alright," Greyson assured. He looked around, gauging whether his teammates had the same luck as he did.

Dustyn and Pierce were some distance away, working together to help free Ezelia. Her leg was moving, not frantically. Greyson figured she would be safe as well. He also spotted Ember, hiking her way toward the group. Apparently, she had been carried further than the others.

"Glad you're back up!" Rusty called. Greyson turned, and saw Rusty, with Raven clutching his arm. She looked exhausted.

"I'm glad you're up too. Anyone missing?" Greyson asked.

"Raven saved me! I think she's getting control of her semblance!" Rusty proudly declared. He scanned the face of the mountain, before looking once more at Greyson. "Where are Kita and Alexandra?"

"We're over here!" Alexandra called. She stumbled over the top of a boulder a couple dozen feet away. Kita appeared behind her.

"Good. Let's get moving," Greyson declared. "They're probably still looking for us."

"But... the soldiers are stuck somewhere in the avalanche," Azure debated wistfully. "Some of them could be seriously injured..."

"We're not sticking around to help the guys who just tried to kill us," Greyson staunchly argued. He looked up, and saw an airship circling near the peak of the mountain. "We're leaving, now." He raised his voice so the rest of Twilight Crusade could hear him. "Everyone! We're headed to the woods between here and the next village! Quick!"

Greyson and friends worked their way down the hill, keeping an eye out for the slowly surfacing soldiers and the airships above. Once they hit open glacier, a hail of bullets once again rained from above. The forest felt far away as Greyson charged forward, glacial air tearing at his lungs with each breath. The bullets cracked the ice at his feet, and sent shards of frozen shrapnel into his eyes. Eventually, he and his friends hit forest.

The clatter of persistent gunfire stopped as Greyson and others broke into the treeline, and they were left in near silence. Slowly, the echoes faded and Greyson heard the ships retreating back to the mountain, presumably to fetch its men. Greyson propped himself against a tree, and breathed deeply. Massive clouds of vapor formed around his face with each labored breath.

"It's so! Freaking! _Cold_ out here!" Alexandra shouted into the forest. "I wanna be back in the desert, dying of dehydration!"

"V-Vacuo sounds n-nice right now..." Raven agreed, lips quivering both due to her usual stutter and shivering jaw. "Wh-Why is everything happening like this... I-I just want to be h-home, and warm. I-I don't want to be out here anymore!"

"Breaking news. Nobody does," Ember snapped. "But since those wings can't fly us back home, I don't want to hear another word."

"Back off!" Rusty defended. "I think we have a right to complain, this sucks!" He scoffed. "And don't even _try_ to pretend you didn't complain constantly about your sunburn last Summer!"

"Doesn't mean we should. Complain loud enough, and the damned military will find us," Ember continued.

"Keep fighting, and grimm will find us," Greyson cut in.

"I believe they already have," Kita added grimly. She donned her mask, and clutched Kenakuma. Through the slits in her mask, she stared intently, deep into the forest. "I have felt this presence before..." she stated.

After a point, the woods between Greyson and the next village looked black as night. Whispering echoed through the trees, clamoring off trunks and branches before reaching Greyson's ear as discordant fragments of hissed words. Slowly, the darkness approached, carrying with it a crescendo of whispers. Greyson saw a pair of glowing red eyes hovering toward his group, approaching with the edge of darkness. The bright, open valley behind him looked welcoming, yet Greyson knew Mistral's guns flew above. Only one option was left.

He unsheathed Blitz and Nimbus.


	40. V3: Mnemophobia

The Specter approached. Greyson heard the members of Twilight Crusade unsheathing, unholstering, and readying their weapons. He held his own and watched intently as the red eyes drew closer, and the darkness spread menacingly. Beyond the line of darkness, about a hundred feet away, Greyson saw nothing.

"Azure and Raven. Take aim and fire," Greyson commanded.

Azure's beams and Raven's bolts disappeared into the shadows as the pair of red eyes darted around, dodging the attacks.

"What about me? Should I try?" Dustyn asked, Boomstick at the ready.

"Their weapons are quieter," Greyson said. "If we don't make a lot of noise, it'll be harder for Mistral to find us. Plus, I'd rather not get caught in another avalanche."

"Right!" Dustyn affirmed.

The Specter continued forward, appearing to gain speed as it charged toward Greyson, blades crossed like a colossal pair of scissors.

" _Not scared. Not scared,_ " Greyson repeated in his head. He brought Nimbus down over his shoulder, feet skidding backward on the ice as his blade locked with the grimm's. A thrust from Blitz into what should have been the creature's gut fazed through the air.

The creature of grimm blinked to the side of a swift strike from Kita, and transformed into a nine-tailed fox. Kita was awestruck as the creature, ten feet long and clad entirely in white armor, bounded toward Pierce. With Ace and Spade in tonfa form, he aimed a punch at the Great Shrouded Fox's lookalike.

In an instant, the fox disappeared, and took the form of a condensed black mist, with a solid body no bigger than a bullet. It shot through Pierce's head, yet he felt no pain.

Pierce opened his eyes to a too-familiar scene. A man on his knees, black hair drenched in sweat and covering his face. His hands were tied by rope behind his back, bound to his ankles. The room was drab, old beige wallpaper peeling off the room's corners and ceiling. The ground was concrete, with a slight decline leading to a drain.

A large man, in width alone, wore a dark green suit, tailor-made to his taste. He stood behind a young boy, grinning as he watched the boy aim a gun to the bound man's head.

"Go on, boy," the suited man goaded. "If ya gonna take over tha mafia someday, ya gotta learn ta exterminate rats."

"Come on, he's just a kid! No older than... what? Eleven? Twelve?" the bound man argued, face contorted with anguish. "I know I ain't gettin' outta here alive, but do it yourself, boss!"

"I ain't ya boss no longer," Pierce's father argued. He put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Go ahead, Pierce."

The boy squinted slightly, and pulled the trigger. A deafening crack filled the room.

"Stop. _Stop!_ " Pierce yelled. He shut his eyes tight and held his head in his hands, but nothing would stop the memories from flooding into his mind.

He felt he would drown.

"Pierce!" Ember yelled. She ran to his side, and paced a hand on his shoulder. He violently thrashed her arm away.

Pierce was transported to another scene. This one, a couple of years later. He stood in front of a broad casket, with flowers laid atop it. He heard a woman's weeping from behind him, and the quiet murmurs of the mafia's remaining members.

Pierce felt nothing. He did nothing, but stare.

"Guess you're the man of the house now, eh?" a man solemnly said from behind his back. "This makes you head of the mob, too."

Without a word, Pierce turned away.

He woke up. He saw a dark room, and instantly knew which memory he had the misfortune of watching play out next. Ember lay next to him, deep breaths indicating a deep sleep. She knew too much. A cunning girl Pierce was able to trust when she was on his side. Now, their shared goal was finished. The mafia had dissolved, and she knew everything about him. And, where his money was.

He had trusted her before, but knew leaving her alive would be a mistake. A shame, really. Had she lived, Pierce knew she could go on to become a successful huntress.

Pierce grabbed Ace, and loaded two shots into the clip. One should deplete her aura, he thought. The other would finish the job. He raised the gun, and aimed it at her temple.

His hands shook. He remembered his first kill, of the man so helplessly bound. Some feeling, something he had never felt before, held him back. His finger refused to pull the trigger. The vision faded.

Then, Pierce ran along the rooftops of Vale's industrial district, with the girl he had nearly killed all those years before. Before faking his own death, before Beacon Academy; the school that now crumbled. He knew what he had to do. Fake his own death once more.

An explosion rocked the rooftop, granting Pierce the perfect opportunity to vanish. He stalked along the alleyways, and fear plagued his heart as a cacophony of gunshots rang out in the street behind him. He knew the White Fang had found Ember, and nearly turned back. Yet, he continued on, following a pair of White Fang grunts until they reached Beacon's main hall. Inside, amid the flames, a tall man clad in a black suit stood.

He held his sword at the ready as Pierce stepped over a pile of rubble, boldly making eye contact with the slits of the man's mask.

Then, the final memory. Walking out of the Garnett mansion, his life as the notorious "Phantom" over. He held his most loyal subordinate, a girl whose near-childlike passion for the White Fang's cause never managed to get on Pierce's nerves. The girl never deserved her fate, never deserved to be cast into the world of the White Fang in the first place. He set her body down, and closed her eyes. She got close to him, and paid the ultimate price.

When Pierce opened his eyes, he saw the frigid forest. Yet, it burned. " _What the hell? Why isn't it over?!_ " he thought. His gaze was guided downward. Mistral's military held Ember to the ground, suffocating her in the snow. The barrel of a gun was held to the back of her head.

Pierce crumpled to the snow, clutching his head and clamping his eyes shut. "Stop! This isn't real!" He shouted. He curled onto his elbows and knees, forehead scraping on the icy ground. "NONE OF THIS IS REAL!"

"Pierce! What the hell is going on?" Ember frantically questioned, still at his side.

" _ **GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!**_ "

Whispers echoed through the area, sending a chill down Greyson's spine as they manifested into a whispered laugh. A black haze rose out of Pierce's dazed form, which still lay on the frozen ground, shivering.

A pair of red eyes coalesced for a split second, just long enough for their piercing gaze to shift, and focus in on Ezelia. As it did with Pierce, the Specter took the form of a bullet-sized black mass, and entered her head.

Ezelia went rigid. A look of confusion flooded her face, which became halfway replaced with horror. "Wh-What?!" she shrieked. "Where... WHERE IS EVERYONE!?"

Dustyn rushed over, placing his hands on Ezelia's shoulder and shaking her slightly. "I'm here! We're all still here, babe! Are you alright?"

Ezelia suddenly jolted back into reality with a pleasantly surprised smile. "I... I think so! Suddenly everyone just disappeared, and I was all alone, but I still felt like someone was watching me, and..." Her grin faded to confusion as she looked at Dustyn, who had gone white as the snow below his feet in terror.

The front few feet of a black snake, about half a foot wide, had slowly worked its way out of the back of Ezelia's head. Its crimson tongue flicked at Dustyn as its beady eyes sized up its prey. The snake struck.

Rusty threw Child's Play around the serpent's neck, and wrenched it both away from Dustyn and out of Ezelia. Child's Play's cord slackened as the Specter turned back into a grey mist, before coalescing into a grotesque, bug-like monster.

The creature stood about a foot taller than Greyson, and its body was vaguely akin to that of a human. The similarities to a man stopped there. Three-toed feet, each toe with a six-inch talon, supported the body on bent, armored legs. What should have been hands were instead white scythe blades, each one nearly the height of the alien-looking monster. A pair of leathery wings, though probably not functional for more than an extended leap, adorned its back. Next to each head, which had a mouth full of razor sharp teeth and a pair of glowing crimson eyes, a line of spikes stuck out from both collars.

Rusty was reduced to a shuddering mess as the beast stared him down, producing a bizarre, guttural, purring noise. It leapt into the air, scythe at the ready.

"Rusty!" Raven yelled. She jumped in to block the first strike with her shield, but was flung aside by the second. The beast leapt again, striking Rusty to the ground and depleting his aura with one scythe. With the other, it pinned his jacket to the ground, stabbing the frozen ground like warm butter.

The beast's head came closer, jaws widening. Rusty clamped his eyes shut as he felt hot breath on his cheek.

A screech filled his ear, and he felt the beast's weight lift off his body. He looked up, to see one of Azure's arrows stuck in one eye of the recoiling beast and out the other. Raven returned to Rusty's side, landing a heavy slash across the monstrosity's side.

Another screech, and the Specter turned back into its base form. The forest lightened as it retreated deeper into the woods.

"A-Are you okay?" Raven fervently asked, kneeling down next to Rusty. She looked to where the creature's claws had penetrated Rusty's clothing. With a sigh of relief, she saw no blood.

"I'm _alive_ ," Rusty offered. "Probably scarred for _life_ , but alive." He turned to Azure. "Thanks for that. You too, Raven."

"That was so weird! Suddenly I just didn't see any of you guys, but I felt like I was being watched!" Ezelia described. "I guess... I don't like being alone?"

"Seems like the thing can get into our heads," Greyson added. He looked to Pierce, who was slow to stand. "Is that right? What did you see?"

Pierce shot Greyson a stony glare.

"We're not talking about what happened to me."

"Oh, alright then..." Greyson weakly responded. "We should get going, that village isn't getting any closer."

Twilight Crusade took a few minutes together themselves, then continued through the woods. The forest provided shelter from the howling winds, yet the air was still blustery, thick with powder that rained from the branches above. After nearly the whole day of walking, Greyson once again saw the pillars of smoke rising into the white sky over the crest of the slight hill the edge of the forest sat on top of. Greyson smiled a bit, considering the promise of warm fireplaces, perhaps a place to stay for the night.

"Hell yeah!" Rusty exclaimed in excitement. "Think they've got any food? I'm starving!"

"It's the dead of Winter," Ember reminded. "They're probably preoccupied with filling their own stomachs."

"Well still! It's gotta be warmer than out in the forest!" Rusty insisted. He jogged forward to the top of the hill, Raven in tow.

"Get back!" Ember called. "They've probably been warned about us. If they have, there's no way in Hell we'll be sleeping there."

Greyson paused. From behind, he watched Raven slowly raise one hand up to her mouth. Rusty turned, an absent look of terror across his face.

"All that smoke we saw..." Rusty muttered. He gulped. "It didn't come from chimneys."


	41. V3: Swallowed by the Beast

Greyson's heart sank. As he rushed to the edge of the hill, asking Rusty what he meant, he already knew. Nibanme Village, apparently a peaceful, hardy people protected by a handful of huntsmen, had been ravaged. Thick pillars of grey smoke rose out of the rubble, and rode along the vicious winds. Human-sized masses littered the dirt roads. Whether bodies or more rubble, Greyson did not care to know.

Below Twilight Crusade's flag, which once again rippled falsely in the wind, two black-clad figures stood.

The figures took no notice as Greyson and the rest approached, weapons drawn. Upon entering the village, Greyson walked cautiously through the carnage. Bodies littered the street next to him, and he did not dare look at them. Though the winds above moved the pillars of smoke Eastward, the weather at the ground was eerily still, the stenches of smoke and blood stagnating near the ground. Ice etched across the village pathways, and up the edges of each crumbling hut until contacting the intense heat of the flames.

A beam supporting the ceiling of a hut next to Greyson crashed to the ground, bringing the roof down with it. Finally, the two black-robed figures revealed themselves.

Vladimir's mother and father faced Twilight Crusade. Mr. Garnett leaned on his cane, stony glare fixing on Greyson's own. With a sly smirk, Mrs. Garnett wiped away a spot of blood from her lower lip.

"Too bad, isn't it? Another village wiped off the map~" Mrs. Garnett teased. "Once again, our heroes were _too late..._ "

"You... how can you casually throw away people's lives like this?!" Alexandra shouted. "Your gain isn't worth one life, let alone three villages!"

"Three?" Mrs. Garnett repeated. "We've only attacked two, _so far..._ "

"You killed my people! All to steal Crown Jewel!" Alexandra accused.

"Ah, yes! The... Inua? I don't recall their name correctly, I'm sure," Mrs. Garnett casually said. A wicked grin traced across her blood red lips. "All I remember is how they screamed and cried as I burned their tribemates alive!"

Alexandra stormed up to Mrs. Garnett in a rage, shattering the ice at her feet. "I'm stopping you, right here and now!" she shouted. She unsheathed her White Fang cutlass, but Kita held her back.

"Halt. You have said she is strong, even without Crown Jewel. You are not yet experienced enough with the blade," Kita warned.

"Listen to the girl," Mrs. Garnett arrogantly agreed. "...But I do think these pests should be handled." She placed a hand on her husband's shoulder and turned, body facing away from Twilight Crusade. She lowered her voice. "I just took care of my skin, so I have to be careful not to exert myself. Eliminate them. But keep our sacrifice and Mrs. Ozeen alive."

"Let! Go of me!" Alexandra struggled. She broke free of Kita's grasp, and charged forward with a rage-filled scream.

"You should have listened..." Mrs. Garnett muttered. She raised a single hand out, and her palm began to glow pale blue. An icicle, the length of a spear but twice as thick, blasted from her hand and careened toward Alexandra.

Raven leapt in, feet skidding in a cloud of ice dust as her shield blocked the impact. When she looked up and the mist settled, her attacker had disappeared.

"Our sacrifice has come to volunteer herself?" Mr. Garnett spoke. "Come forward, love. We will embrace you as we did your father."

Raven grit her teeth, suppressing her building rage. The man who had killed her father, and imprisoned Ember's mother, stood before her. The man responsible for so much suffering.

She felt as if no one else stood in the frozen, demolished village.

"P-Please, let me fight him alone," Raven suggested. "I-I want to see how far my semblance has come. A-And... I don't think he'll kill me here."

"Wait, Raven-" Rusty began.

"Got it," Greyson affirmed. "If things get rough, we'll back you up."

"Th-Thanks," Raven said. She turned to Mr. Garnett, footsteps on ice the only sound coming to her ears. "Yes. I volunteer myself. But I'm not going without a fight."

"Very well," Mr. Garnett confirmed. He raised his cane in front of him with both hands. The cane pulled apart slowly, producing a silver blade, the handle of which was the handle of the cane's base form. The other half he lowered to his hip, empty hole pointing toward Raven's head.

He pulled a lever, and the base of his cane fired a shot.

In an instant, Raven's semblance manifested. A ring of fog blasted outward, rippling Greyson's clothes and tousling his hair. A pair of translucent wings, each nearing ten feet long, protected Raven from the shot. The wings separated and settled slowly at her back, showing Raven's eyes which shone like a blacklight.

"Let me be your lesson. That no one, human or faunus, is to be used for your selfish gain."

"I've had to put down so many of your kind, Awakened One. I am confident you won't prove to be any different."

Raven let out a deep breath, and shot herself forward with her wings, leaving a trail of icy fog in her wake. Her first downward strike was parried, and she blocked a gunshot with her shield. She thrust outward, nearly knocking Mr. Garnett to the ground. He fell back, planting his hands on the ground and springing backward onto his feet with astounding agility for his age, then rushed forward again to attack Raven with a flurry of steel.

" _Right jab, left jab, upward slash, downward slash, gunshot,_ " Raven analyzed, blocking each attack with blade, shield, and wing.

A blunt attack from the barrel of Mr. Garnett's gun, across the side of her head, shook Raven's guard for a split second. Raven winced as she felt a piercing pain in her lower stomach. She jumped backward, sizing up her opponent.

"I'll let you in on a secret, Awakened One," Mr. Garnett drawled. "The Garnett family shares a semblance, with only slight variation. The fallen make us stronger."

Raven's only reply was a glare.

"More accurately, we can freely manipulate the auras and souls of those we have killed," Mr Garnett explained. "My wife takes in souls to rejuvenate. My son takes the souls directly into his own. He truly is our pride and joy."

" _That must be why she marveled at my youth,_ " Raven thought. " _...Disgusting._ "

Mr. Garnett jabbed outward with his blade, and pulled back slowly, letting his hand pass over the steel. A white mist began to form around the blade, a choir of what sounded eerily similar to human beings howling in pain accompanying it. A dancing rainbow of energy, beautifully horrific, surrounded his rapier, transforming it into a greatsword half his height and nearly a foot wide. " _I_ am able to imbue my weapons with aural energy. What you saw was only a hint at my strength."

"S-Something tells me y-you don't intend for me to be able to tell m-my teammates," Raven guessed.

"I will not kill you, Awakened One!" Mr. Garnett assured. "But it is true I don't intend for this to fall on their ears."

" _Look how he uses others' lives,_ " a voice called into Raven's mind. Like her own, yet different in a way Raven could not explain. She clenched her fist as a pulse of rage seized her mind for a second, as if carried on the beat of her heart. " _The only answer is to end his._ "

" _No,_ " Raven staunchly resolved. " _I have to control myself_."

Mr. Garnett charged at Raven, crushing downward with his aura-imbued blade. Her wings crossed to defend the attack, but she felt the crushing weight of the blow. She pushed out, and slashed at Vladimir's father with her sword. The attack was flung backward by his own, before two more attacks met Raven's stomach and shoulder. She managed to block the third, and produce a pair of jabs with the tip of her wings, both of which were dodged.

" _Kill him._ "

" _No. Control._ "

Mr. Garnett slashed again, and Raven jumped over. She deflected two more attacks, one with wing and one with shield, before striking once. The attack was parried, and Raven yelped with pain as she was met with a brutal hit to the stomach.

" _ **Kill him.**_ "

" _No. Control!_ "

Raven ducked to the side of another lunge, and Mr. Garnett ducked away from another wing attack. The two circled around each other in mad dashes, trading blows, blocks, and dodges. Finally, Raven met a crushing attack with one of her own. Her blade locked with Mr. Garnett's, and her eyes locked with his. His blade threatened to bear down on her head, yet Raven kept it at bay, shaking with the full force of her strength.

As Raven looked into Mr. Garnett's eyes, a flashback forced itself into her head. She saw Amity Colosseum around her, and heard the cheers of the crowd. Her eyes locked on Stahl Furzen's.

"" _Kill him. Kill him! KILL HIM!_ "

" _...N-No... control.._ "

Raven's focus broke, until a massive slash tore from her shoulder to waist. She knew what was left of her aura had blocked it, but felt a vicious pain throughout her body. A second blow was barely blocked in time by her wings, and she was thrown into a nearby hut. The wood and brick ceiling collapsed with a great clatter, covering Raven with a layer of debris and a cloud of dust.

"RAVEN!" Rusty yelled. He ran toward the hut, the danger of Mr. Garnett forgotten.

" _ **KILL HIM. TAKE HIS STRENGTH AS YOUR OWN.**_ "

" _...c-control..._ "

Rusty was knocked off his feet by a brutal gust of wind. Confused, he looked up. A chill wriggled its way down his spine, as his eyes went wide in terrified awe.

Raven rose from the cloud of dust, holding her wings outward and unfolding the upper half of her body until she stood upright. Her wings curled. She hunched over and yelled, voice saturated with a strikingly uncharacteristic hue of purified rage. The translucent glow of her wings grew across her body slowly with her scream, like a layer of black and blue ice. It started at her back, and etched across her torso before spreading to legs and arms. Her head lowered into her hands, and she was silent for several seconds. Her back heaved with the burden of heavy breaths.

Her head wrenched upward as she screamed again, this time in pain.

The glow worked its way up her neck, and settled to cover her mouth, nose, and left eye in an uncanny attempt at a raven's beak. Her one remaining eye glowed with furious intensity. Her eye glared at Mr. Garnett, only one emotion emanating throughout her mind, heating the blood coursing through her veins as her breath escaped in clouds of fog through her beak.

Hatred.


	42. V3: The Other Within

Back in Hajimaru, life continued on, anything but ordinary. Police called in Greyson and Rusty's parents in for questioning. Though their stories all lined up, and no evidence of wrongdoing was found, they still barged into the Skye household late one night, with a particular interest for Greyson's room. Nothing of note was found. Days later, Mr. Skye, who had been obsessively watching news stories, searching for online articles, and listening to radio broadcasts on Twilight Crusade, happened upon a news story that caught his interest. Responding to his call, Rusty's parents and Raven's mother sat around the Skye family's living room, huddled up in front of the television.

"Back in Summer, that group stopped a White Fang attack on our dam," a man in a business suit, standing in front of a massive room full of blue-green generators, reported. "Their actions, along with one of our employees, saved countless lives and billions of Lien."

The screen switched to a second interview, this one in the middle of what looked to be arid Vacuo desert. "They sure didn' hunt _us_ down," a man in a wide-brimmed hat and a flannel, with a drawling accent stated. "They risked their hides savin' this here town."

"The huntsman group known as Twilight Crusade is also responsible for thwarting the White Fang attack on the Harvest Festival last October," a neatly dressed reporter said. "Though they remain the primary suspects in the attack on Chikara village, their past actions leave many unsure."

As the news anchor flashed back onto the screen, preparing to hand the screen over to the weatherman, Mr. Skye turned to the rest of the adults with a grin. "This has me sure," he proudly said. "Our kids aren't the ones doing it. It looks like some other people agree."

"What a relief..." Rusty's mother sighed. "Maybe they'll find who's really behind it."

"Let's hope. I know I'm going to do everything in my power to get them cleared," Mr. Skye pledged. "All they have to do is stay out of trouble for a little longer..."

"...Raven?" Rusty asked, uneasily rising to his feet. She stood nearly still, wracked occasionally by an uncanny shiver or twitch.

"Get back," Ember warned. "It's not Raven in control anymore. She could be dangerous, even to you."

"But-" Rusty began.

Raven's beak raised to the sky, producing a horrifying screech only slightly more human than grimm. She stared down Mr. Garnett, wings flapping slowly.

"I've never seen one like this before!" Mr. Garnett shouted in elation. "What strength! Come, Awakened One! Fulfill your duty as a sacrifice!"

With another screech, Raven's wings flapped and she shot forward like a bullet, leaving a cloud of mist in her wake. Mr. Garnett brought up his weapon to defend, but it caught in her beak. Raven disarmed her opponent, and a cloud of rainbow rose upward as his sword shattered like a twig.

A brutal thrust from Raven's left wing hurled Mr Garnett to the ground with a crack. He stood up, dizzied from the ice-shattering blow. He glanced over his shoulder, searching for an escape.

Twilight Crusade surrounded him.

Raven's fury grew as Mr. Garnett dodged around two vicious lunges. She ripped her wing downward after the second, producing a blade of wind. Mr. Garnett flew back into the stone wall of the village's largest hut, a white ripple of energy across his body signalling his aura was spent.

" _Stop. Stop S..stOp. S- S STop..?_ " Raven insisted of herself, thoughts coming in patterns disordered by saturated, primal, rage.

Her body lunged forward again, and Mr. Garnett barely jumped out of the way before the building was toppled by Raven's attack. Through the cloud of dust, all he saw was a glowing eye swing around.

Excruciating pain crossed his stomach. He screamed in agony and horror, feeling the beak around his waist tightening like a massive pair of scissors. His guttural screams filled the crisp air and echoed into the woods and across the mountain faces.

The echoes were all that remained as his screams abruptly stopped. Greyson watched on in dread, a sick feeling filling his stomach as Raven repeatedly pecked at her feet, like a bird of prey picking apart its meal.

Several seconds later, Raven emerged, body still clad in black, absorbed in fury. She stared down Twilight Crusade. An evil, cackling laugh, distorted and disturbingly unlike her own light giggle came from her beak as she lurched forward, using her wings like a second pair of legs. With each step, blood dribbled from her beak and dotted the snow.

"Raven! Calm down!" Greyson insisted. A spear of fear impaled him as her one glowing eye turned to him with terrifying focus. Her head cocked downward then back, like a curious bird of prey deciding whether a meal was in sight. Greyson rolled to evade as Raven tore past him, but her left wing caught his gut. He hurtled across the ground, grunting as he tumbled painfully against the rugged pathway. Raven continued on legs and wings toward him.

"Greyson!" Azure shouted. "Raven, I'm sorry! But _CALM DOWN!_ " She drew Moonbow, and twisted until her weapon glowed a light yellow against her pale skin. She let fly three shots.

They bounced pitifully off Raven's wings. She swung around, and released a furious shriek.

"Raven... it's... it's okay..." Azure shakily offered. Another shriek, and Azure too was forced to dive to her side as Raven rushed her.

"Everyone, stand back!" Pierce commanded. He pulled Ace and Spade from his belt, and analyzed his surroundings. Not ideal, considering even when the huts were structurally sound they stood no more than twenty feet tall. Perhaps, he thought, he could lure Raven into the woods. He let out a deep breath. "...And look away. This might get ugly."

"No way! What are you planning on doing to her!?" Rusty furiously protested.

"Whatever it takes to calm her down. Right now, she's a threat," Pierce asserted. He turned to Kita. "You. Help me with her."

Kita gripped Kenakuma, yet moved no further. Her thumb slid back and forth across the handle of her weapon in a subdued fidget, leaving a thin trail of sweat behind with each stroke. Under her mask, her teeth clenched, unable to give a confirmation.

"There has to be another way out of this!" Rusty pleaded. "You'll kill her!"

"If there's another way, be my guest," Pierce offered.

Rusty sighed, and a cloud of fog rose from his nose and mouth. He stepped toward Raven's possessed form, which still lurched forward. Body built up by the black pulsating armor that controlled her body and mind, she now stood slightly taller than he.

Rusty held a shaking hand toward her, giving his best attempt to clear the terror he felt from his mind. "Do you remember me?" he asked. "It's okay, Raven. I love you. All of you. Nothing will ever change that."

Raven paused her advance. Her glowing eye thinned for a split second, as if blinking. Rusty let a small smile trace across his lips as she seemed to calm.

"There we are," Rusty continued. "Thank you, Rav-"

Another deafening screech. Before Rusty could react, a vicious punch from one of Raven's wings sent Rusty to the ground before her. Pierce sprinted in, Kita a couple strides behind him as Raven perched over Rusty, beak opening.

Raven sheathed her sword with an arm straining with immense effort, but her beak still lowered. Inches before reaching Rusty's terrified face, her beak snapped shut, and her one glowing eye darkened. Raven's own hand ripped out of her sinister armor, which began to fade like black dust into the white sky. Her entire right arm freed itself, before her left hand and bits of her torso emerged. She tore the beak from her face with several seconds of pained effort, and her gaze met Rusty's ecstatic grin.

Raven crawled up to Rusty, her armor still dissolving around her body. She gasped for air, as if she had just finished a marathon. With her last bit of strength, she pulled herself on top of him. Her hand softly caressed his cheek before she passed out.

Rusty let out a sigh of relief, and his arms wrapped around her back.

"If anything positive came out of this, it should put the Garnetts off our trail for a while," Greyson said. "If we want to warn the Shrouded Fox, we should do it now."

"Don't you think they'll hunt us down even harder now?" Dustyn suggested uneasily, looking to the pile of rubble where Mr. Garnett lay. Dustyn could not see the body from where he stood, but figured it may be for the better.

"We've given them even more reason to track us down, true," Greyson acknowledged. "But they might take some time to re-analyze their strategy. Who we need to worry about for the time being is Mistral."

"Assuming they have not moved, the Shrouded Fox should be directly South of here," Kita stated. "Perhaps a day or two of travel should bring us there."

"South, huh?" Alexandra replied. "I can get behind that. It's way too cold up here..."

"It will still be cold at the Shrouded Fox camp," Kita reminded, a playful tone arising in her voice. "Though the winds should be calmer."

"I've got Raven," Rusty chimed in, managing to lift her unconscious form into a piggyback position. "She's not hurt, I think she'll be fine once she wakes up."

After taking down their falsely-risen flag, Twilight Crusade advanced southward. They hiked for all of an hour before they were forced to camp out for the night, in a clearing next to a frozen stream, protected from the elements by the old-growth pines that surrounded it. Rusty looked after the unconscious Raven for the rest of the night, taking off her armor and changing her into soft, warm clothes, propping her up next to the fire to keep warm, and eventually tucking her in a pile of blankets next to him in the tent. He smiled at her peaceful face, just barely illuminated by the light of his scroll, and brushed a feathered hair off her cheek. He shut off his scroll, and turned onto his side. Soon, he slept.

Come morning, Rusty continued to carry Raven through the forest with Twilight Crusade as they marched South. Eventually, just before noon, Raven jolted awake on Rusty's back, lurching backward with eyes the size of saucers and gasping for breath. Despite Rusty's best efforts to support her, she fell backward into the snow. She looked up to Rusty with eyes brimming with tears.

"Wh-What happened!?" she questioned. "H-How long have I been asleep?"

"You've been asleep since yesterday evening," Rusty reported. "And, well... you lost control of your semblance again."

"S-So... I do remember it right..." Raven wept. "H-How can you even trust me, a-after what I did? I... I'm a _monster!_ "

"If you didn't kill him, I would have done it myself," Ember asserted. "You know what he's done. He deserved it."

"B-But, I... I never wanted to k-kill anyone," Raven continued. She sniffled, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "A-And then... after that. All I felt, w-was anger. I've n-never been that angry, i-in my entire life! I-I attacked Greyson, a-and Azure, and..." Her voice caught in her throat, and more tears dribbled to the frozen ground.

"Hey, Raven. Don't worry. We know it wasn't you in control," Rusty assuaged, kneeling in front of her with a gentle grin. "I'm not hurt, so don't worry about me. I love you, and what happened doesn't change that."

Raven turned her gaze downward, a sheet of jet black hair covering her face. "D-Don't... Don't look at me," she whispered. " _Please._ "

Rusty pulled back with disappointed surprise, eyes widening a hair as he cocked his head in concern.

Somewhere over his shoulder, Ember swore.

"What's wrong?" Greyson asked, turning to her. Like much of the rest of Twilight Crusade, he had been paying full attention to Raven.

Ember pointed to the forest in front of the group, lazy look of irritation etched across her face. "Looks like we're back in for round three."

Greyson looked to where she pointed. Hundreds of feet in front of the group, the forest was coated in the darkness of night. The shadows closed in.

 **Note: Raven's semblance is based on a kagune, from Tokyo Ghoul! Her "out of control" semblance is based on a kakuja!**


	43. V3: Conquer the Other

Greyson tightened his combat gloves with an exasperated sigh, and unsheathed his weapons. As a cacophony of whispers, harsher than the last, rattled through the pines, Greyson heard everyone else's weapons being prepared. Azure let fly a stream of thunder arrows, her usually impeccable aim faltering as her arrows fizzled into the darkness. Raven's aim, inhibited by her shaking arms, was no better.

The Specter's crimson eyes neared, until Greyson saw the rest of its half-corporeal form. He ran toward his opponent with Blitz and Nimbus ready to strike. He lunged forward, and a vicious swing by Nimbus passed through air. Greyson looked over his shoulder to see the Specter spin to dodge his attack, eyes narrowing with what, to Greyson, looked like mischievous arrogance.

It shot forward to attack Raven, who barely had time to block the two massive blades. The momentum of the attack sent her backward, feet skidding through the snow. When she lowered her shield, her eyes widened in horror.

The creature of grimm dissolved into a pitch black cloud, and slowly condensed into her own "fully awakened" form. White armor tipped in red clad its shoulders, chest, stomach, thighs, and shins, exactly where Raven's own armor coated. Its right arm ended in a bony spike of a blade, and its left a bulky shield. Black wings spread across Raven's view, darkening the area and accentuating the light of its one red eye.

Most horrific to Raven was the grimm's bony imitation of a beak. It jutted out a foot from the beast's face, and was tipped with a crimson red emulation of Mr. Garnett's blood. Black clouds escaped the beak in ragged breaths. The beast stared down Raven, relishing her abject horror.

Then, it shrieked. It was an ear shattering cry, disturbingly akin to the screams of a tortured woman. It lunged forward, grabbing the fear-paralyzed Raven in its beak and flinging her against a nearby tree, shattering its trunk.

"RAVEN!" Rusty shouted. He ran forward toward her crumpled form, but was cut off by the monster that had taken her form. It cackled, cocking its head back and forth and lurching toward him.

It struck downward with its bladed arm, but Rusty blocked the attack with the near-indestructible string of Child's Play. He hopped back, and flung his weapon around the creature's neck. As his grip tightened, and the blades of Child's Play dug into the monster's flesh, Rusty halted. Images of he and Raven together flooded his mind. The feeling of happiness he had when they were together, since the moment they had first met, turned to disgusted horror as the image shifted to Child's Play around Raven's own neck.

The split-second questioning was all the time the creature needed to pull Rusty in, and thrust him brutally to the dirt with a wing attack.

Greyson and Azure charged in together. The grimm ducked to the side of Greyson's swing, and brought its bladed arm down. Blitz and Nimbus stopped the blade in an X above Greyson's head, and he pushed outward, firing a lighting bolt into the creature's side. Azure landed a pair of hits on the beast's recoiling form, but was pushed backward by a burst of wind as it leapt at Greyson.

He rolled to the side, and flinched with fear as the monster's beak impaled the ground just inches from his stomach. A jab from the beast's blade was just barely blocked, and Greyson was punched back by the monster's shielded arm.

"This thing's a lot stronger than before!" Greyson noted, breath coming in labored gasps. The beast had turned its attention to Dustyn, Ezelia, and Ember, who together only landed a couple spare hits as their foe dodged and blocked nearly everything they could muster.

"It may become stronger, the more a person fears the form it takes," Kita hypothesized.

"Th-That makes sense..." Raven shakily agreed. "I... I-I'm so s-sorry..."

"It's alright. We've fought worse, so don't worry," Greyson assured. "I'm going to ask you to do something, but whether or not you do it is up to you."

"O-Okay, what is it?" Raven asked.

"We need your semblance again."

Raven looked to the Specter, the to the ground. "I... I don't know i-if I can do it..." she shakily replied. Greyson gave her a single nod before charging off again, yet fear seized Raven. " _What if I lose control again, and my friends have to fight two of me? What if kill them!?_ " Raven agonizingly thought. Alternatively, " _what if I can't use my semblance, and they die without me!?_ "

Pierce whizzed above the Specter's head, and it followed him into the treetops. Its beak opened as it leapt up, but Pierce dodged and rolled in midair as he tore his blades across the creature's wing. He continued forward, and kicked off the trunk of a tree to reverse direction back at his foe. He felt wind whip through his hair as he barely dodged a vicious flyby. He sprayed the beast with bullets from Spade, none of which left much effect.

" _I have to calm down,_ " Raven persisted. She clenched her fists in an attempt to stop her arms from shivering. " _My fear is making that thing way too strong. What if I've made it too strong!?_ "

The Specter flew back at Pierce with savage ferocity and the tip of its wing caught his ribs. He tumbled through the branches, gasping for air before regaining his composure and latching a grappling hook onto an especially sturdy pine. He hung onto the line and planted his feet on the rough bark, staring down the grimm bird.

A blast from Grimm Cat splintered the tree the Specter sat on, and it charged Pierce. He backflipped off as the creature of grimm shattered Pierce's own tree. Pierce landed a single shot from Ace before dodging the tree's falling upper half.

Through the cascading fog of branches and ice, Pierce heard the Specter closing in. He tried to dodge right, but the creature was in his blind spot. Excruciating pain wracked his body as was caught by the monster's beak. He transformed Spade into its blade form, and dug it into the grimm's eye.

It screeched, and he was thrown to the ground. He hurdled downward dozens of feet, barely hooking the tree next to him to slow down before ramming into the dirt next to Raven.

"A-Are you okay?" Raven asked anxiously.

Pierce grimaced, put his hand behind his head, and cracked his neck once. "Been better," he replied. "What's up with you?"

"Gr-Greyson said I-I should use my semblance. B-But, I'm not sure..."

"Scared you'll lose control?" Pierce guessed.

Raven nodded sadly. "Or, i-if I don't use my semblance, wh-what if you guys can't beat it without me?"

Pierce watched for a few seconds as the Specter, still in Raven's form, battled the other members of Twilight Crusade, keeping up with each of their attacks. He looked back over to Raven. "Thing's strong as hell, that's for sure," he said. "But, in extension, that means you would be too if you lost control. I'm not going to tell you what to do. Just sit back, and think it over. As your ex-team leader, I'm telling you to do whatever you think is right."

Without another word, he ran off. Raven sat for several seconds, pondering what Pierce meant by his words, whether he was even attempting to help. She realized there was no deeper meaning to what he said. This was her fight. She was the only one able to face the issue, the only one who could help herself.

Taking deep, calming, breaths, Raven watched the fight.

Kita slashed parallel to the ground, and the avian specter jumped over the attack with a flap of its wings. It responded with a downward strike from its bladed arm, which Kita easily sidestepped. She managed to land a hit, but it was largely blocked by the grimm's bony plating. She hopped backward to avoid a vicious attack from one of the beast's wings, and let Greyson step in for a few attacks before he too backed off.

"Is there anything I can do?" Alexandra asked, White Fang cutlass tentatively held at the ready.

"I am sorry, but please stay back," Kita advised. She watched Ember's daggers deflected by the beast's shield arm, and Azure's arrows easily dodged. "Despite its size, this is no ordinary grimm."

Alexandra sighed. "I wish I had Crown Jewel back," she complained. "We'd already have won if I did." She looked up to Kita. "Well, good luck. And please be careful."

"We will get it back in time," Kita assured. She turned to the Specter, deep breath escaping her mask in a hiss. "Kage no Shōkan!" she chanted. As she ran her thumb down the dull edge of Kenakuma's blade, the weapon pulsed red once. Then, a black mist coalesced along the blade's edge, nearly doubling its already considerable length. Kita charged forward, and the other members of Twilight Crusade stepped back.

Her single strike, seen before to cleave deathstalkers in two, was blocked.

In the split second it took Kita to realize her attack was useless, a wing punch sent her hurdling backward across the frozen ground. She stopped with a thud against a tree trunk between Raven and Alexandra, her aura fizzling out around her body.

"Kita!" Alexandra screamed in terror. She rushed to her friend's side, along with Azure. "Please! Tell me you're okay!"

"I... merely think I've had the wind knocked out of me," Kita stated, raising her head up to Alexandra weakly. Its string severed by the impact against the rough bark, Kita's mask slipped off her face as she gazed into Alexandra's eyes.

"You had me worried!" Alexandra exclaimed. "I told you to be careful!"

"Do not worry for me. I must continue to fight," Kita pledged. She grabbed her mask, and began to re-tie the string.

Defiantly, Alexandra reached across Kita's body, and held her blade's handle.

"No. You've been telling me to be careful all this time. Now you're going to run in on that... _thing_ with no aura left?" A furious grimm screech from behind Alexandra furthered her point. "You're staying back here with me."

"It's too dangerous," Azure agreed. "We need to make sure you're not hurt. And, make sure you don't end up like Mr. Garnett."

"I have already pledged my life to your protection. The Shrouded Fox must keep their oaths, as they are bound by the Great Shrouded Fox herself," Kita insisted. She stood up. Alexandra stood with her, a barrier between Kita and the grimm. "I was born with weak aura, and have survived this long by adapting to my weakness and training my strength. Let me do as I have promised."

"Th-That... That won't be necessary," Raven boldly cut in. Slowly, she stood up, and took a deep breath. "This fight rides on me, so I can't just curl up in fear."

A single heartbeat rang out in Raven's ears, and she felt the familiar burst of wings from her shoulder blades. The wings gloriously unfolded to their full span, sending a gust of wind through the trees. Her breaths came evenly, and her mind was calm. The black energy of her wings coated her arms, widening her shield and lengthening her blade. The grimm suddenly stopped its current assault on Ezelia, twisting its neck eerily to glare at Raven.

Both of her eyes glowed with ardent focus. She knew there was no option but victory.


	44. V3: One Down

**It's been a while since I've asked a question, hasn't it? So, here goes the classic. Who's your favorite character at this point in the series?**

"Everyone!" Raven called. "S-Stand back!"

Alexandra, Kita, and Azure backed away from where they stood, and Greyson and the others paused their assault on the grimm. It turned away from Ember, and squared its shoulders, locking its one eye with Raven's two. Their gazes locked, and they waited.

Raven and the Specter shot toward each other.

Raven deflected a downward slash from the grimm's bladed arm outward with her shield, and reciprocated with a slash across the grimm's body. Its prior confidence was shattered as the tip of Raven's blade tore straight through its armor. The beast screeched again, and its wings flared outward with intensified fury. Raven curled her wings around her body, protecting herself from a barrage of shadow feathers which pelted her in a hail of blades.

Her wings slashed outward as the beast lunged forward with another strike over its shoulder. Raven launched the grimm backward, and chased it down with blade at the ready. One swing was dodged. A second slash in the reverse direction got blocked by the grimm's wing. The grimm offered three strikes of its own, one from each wing and a final attack from its blade. Each jab was blocked by Raven's wings, ardently glowing black and maneuvering deftly as a second pair of arms.

A guttural growl of irritation rose from the creature's beak, along with a black haze. It tore ice from the ground behind it in a cloud of fog as it shot forward with vicious speed to knock Raven off her feet. It continued past her, honing in on Kita.

She, Azure, and Alexandra barely dodged out of the way before the boulder they stood near was shattered like glass. The grimm snapped its head to an angle impossible for a human to glare at the auraless huntress.

"You... get the _hell_ back!" Alexandra shouted, raising her cutlass with quivering arms.

"Th-This... this fight is _ours!_ " Raven yelled. She rushed forward, slamming the creature of grimm through the remains of the boulder and dragging it dozens of feet past her friends. The beast screamed, and took Raven's head in its beak. It twisted, and flung her across the ground.

Raven lay face down for several seconds, until she lurched upward into a kneel with blade impaling the dirt to support her body weight. Her breath came in ragged gasps. Black clouded her vision in one eye as the armor covering her wing and arm grew across her face, threatening to produce a beak once again. Her body shook for several seconds, gasping for air. She lurched forward, but caught herself. Anxiously, Rusty jogged forward.

"G-Get away!" Raven insisted. Rusty stopped in his tracks, and looked nervously from her to the slowly approaching grimm.

With a defiant yell, Raven punched the ground. The armor around her face disappeared into a black fog, and she stood once more. Excited, the Specter jumped forward, beak wide open.

Raven impaled the beast through its head.

A horrific screech was choked out by her blade. The beast reeled backward, losing its avian form but still not quite dead. It pushed Raven backward with one final attack, and took its specter form to retreat into the woods.

"Like hell you're getting away!" Rusty shouted. He threw Child's Play as hard as he could, and embraced the feeling of satisfaction as the blade connected with the Specter's back. He pulled the creature toward himself.

The Specter was wrenched backward toward Rusty, but Child's Play went slack as the head dislodged from the creature's shoulders. It transformed back into the bug-like monster as it used its momentum to fly toward Rusty. He stretched his weapon's cord across his body to block an attack, then retaliated with a swing over his head, that bashed into the Specter's own. With another swing in the reverse direction, he wrapped Child's Play around its neck.

Yet again, the cord slackened. The bug-like monster fizzled into a cloud of mist, and coalesced into its bulletlike form. It shot toward Pierce, and once again entered his head. He stiffened for a split second, before hunching over with his hands covering his face. Several seconds passed, Pierce writhing in apparent agony, feet scraping along the ground as he tried to maintain balance. Then, he straightened his body, shouting into the forest as the Specter's black mist rose from his head, rejected.

The mist shot forward in the shape of a serpent, before condensing into a massive snake to confront Dustyn. Still coiled, the snake rose its head to the same height as Dustyn's, with tongue flicking and beady red eyes glowing with hunger. It lashed out.

Dustyn shook himself from his fright just in time to leap left, spin Boomstick in front of his body, and slash down the serpent's side. The beast writhed before pulling back again. Before its strike, Dustyn slashed a second time, this blow crossing the snake's neck. He at first thought he killed the beast as it faded away, but realized a jet black pellet honed in on Ezelia.

She blocked the beast with the blunt edge of Grimm Cat. "Don't even try!" she yelled defiantly. "You won't scare me, because I have everyone I need right here!"

The usual whispers accompanying the Specter echoed through the forest in an irritated growl. The black fog lingered in front of Ezelia for several seconds, ignoring the slashes from Grimm Cat Ezelia sent through its gaseous form. Then, it charged forward as the Great Shrouded Fox.

"I... I cannot raise my blade against it!" Kita cried out, her white-knuckle grip around Kenakuma's handle refusing to unsheathe her blade.

"It's a fake!" Alexandra returned. She rushed in front of Kita, and slashed across the charging nine-tailed fox's chest. The beast recoiled, and fog swirled upward as it took Mrs. Garnett's form, complete with a bony imitation of Crown Jewel atop its head. The grimm woman screamed like a banshee, before slashing at Alexandra with its two inch, razor sharp, fingernails.

Kita returned Alexandra's favor by jumping to her side, and cleaving the attacking arm from its body. A vicious swing from Kenakuma, aimed to sever neck from body in one slash, passed through air as the grimm sunk into the ground below Kita and Alexandra's feet. Dark tendrils lashed up like flame at their legs, tearing at Kita's leggings and expanding until it sat underneath the rest of Twilight Crusade.

Ember grimaced as she felt the tendrils lashing at her thighs and leaving streaks of searing pain across them. "I'm not sure how badly I can hurt you," she said, flipping over in the air, attaching a dagger to her boot, and unsheathing one for each hand.

"But I'm damn sure going to try!"

The tendrils stiffened as Ember crashed into the ground, sinking the blade in each hand and on one of her legs into the ground. The black flames contracted, before rising up once again and taking on an all-too familiar human form. The grimm stood just in front of Azure, in its imitation of Vladimir.

"I thought this thing was smart," Azure said. She raised Moonbow, and pulled back as far as her weapon would allow. "But I guess it doesn't know who I fear most just _happens_ to be who I hate most."

She let fly a beam of fire dust. The Specter raised its shield, but to no avail. The upper half of the shield splintered, and the creature fell backward as the beam entered and exited through its head.

In its base form, the Specter rose again. Its misty tail was far weaker than before, and one of its blades broken. The eerie head twitched on top of its shoulders, barely staying up. It stared down Greyson, and transformed one last time.

The fog expanded, before coalescing into a horrific form. The head of a massive horse, five feet taller than Greyson at the shoulder and clad in bony spikes of armor, breathed a fog of grey into the sky. Greyson followed the mist upward, until he locked eyes with the cloaked giant on its back. White plating covered its face, the hollow nose and round eye holes appearing to Greyson as a skeleton. In one hand, it held a massive scythe.

In the other, a noose.

Fog shifted around the noose's victim and transformed it through a cycle of black bodies. It was at first a shapely woman, who grew and widened into a man. It once again took the form of a woman, shorter hair this time, and wider at the hips. It shrunk further, gaining a sword and shield, and long, bushy hair.

His friends.

Greyson calmly unsheathed Nimbus from his back, and raised it toward his foe. "You're right. That is what I fear most," he admitted. "But, allow me to make sure that never happens."

Greyson held the button on the side of his weapon's handle, and pulled the trigger.

A wicked bolt of lightning struck through the heads of both the horse and hooded figure. In what seemed like slow motion, the horse's knees buckled, and the hooded figure fell back. Bits of grimm rose into the sky, like a flurry of embers lofted into the breeze.

The Specter was finally defeated.

The wind whistled outside the Mistral military's northern command center. It was an ugly building, a concrete slab jutting out of a mountain's face, with only a line of dark windows across the center to decorate the barren grey wall at the building's front. Ice had grown to coat much of the sides. Had it not been for the building's heating system, the windows would have been completely iced over as well.

Inside, a dozen or so uniformed men sat in limited light, their faces illuminated blue by their holographic radar screens. Two had pulled up a holographic layout of the Yamakori mountains, with a section illuminated where they believed Twilight Crusade journeyed on. At a table on the other side of the room, six more men, dressed in black and white military jackets, stars and adornments coating their sleeves, sat at a conference table.

In the far corner, draped with shadows, sat a woman. The light caught her long black boots, crossed at the knee. She dressed in a white combat skirt and white jacket, a mixture between general's attire and a winter coat. Her hair was a match to her outfit, white as snow. Her eyes were covered by the brim of her hat, black and lined with gold. After a golden band wrapped the middle of the hat, it widened up to the top.

"Attack on Nibanme village has been confirmed by squad six," one of the men reported. "Lucius Garnett, CEO of Garnett Jewelers, is among the dead."

"Maybe now we'll get things done how we want," a second man bitterly added.

"Speaking of 'how we want,' the soldier at the end of the table began. "I suggest we send in our trump card."

"Is that necessary? The kids will freeze to death any day now," the first man argued.

"These aren't ordinary kids. They've fought entire villages of huntsmen on their own," another soldier commented. "They've been a thorn in our side for too long. This is what we have our trump card for in the first place."

"Affirmative," the man at the end of the table argued. He ground his cigarette into the table, leaving a trail of ashes. He turned to the side, where the woman in the corner sat.

"Mission, start. We give you permission to engage Twilight Crusade, and bring them back. Dead _or_ alive."

The woman in the corner looked up, tilting the brim of her hat toward the ceiling. Her icy blue eyes flashed with vigor, and a grin of pure excitement grew across her face.


	45. V3: Black and White

**Note: toward the end of this chapter has violence descriptions that deserve the M rating. Be warned.**

The battle with the specter ended in the early afternoon, and the rest of the day was spent hunting and foraging for food, hiking toward the Shrouded Fox camp, and keeping a set of eyes facing each direction, preparing for a Mistral ambush. Kita suggested a visit to a village close to the Shrouded Fox before visiting her family. The village stayed out of the tribal warfare that plagued the area, whether the enigmatic tribes of the dense boreal forest and craggy mountains were unknown to them, or by choice.

Twilight Crusade's hike brought them to a slightly more hospitable area than before. For the first time, the temperatures broke double digits above zero. The bare mountain faces and wind-ravaged glaciers a couple days' hike North replaced themselves with friendlier snowy forests and foothills. Kita once again recognized the area.

Raven managed to stay conscious for the rest of the day after using her semblance, but was exhausted come night. Kita stayed up late to cover Raven's shift after her own. She sat alone on the face of the icy ridge Twilight Crusade camped on, back leaning against a pine and head raised toward the night sky. The moon was bright, and peeked out from between the clouds that framed it.

Four tiny dots of red light broke the peaceful scene. Kita scrambled into a crouching position, hand grasping her sword. The four lights came closer, from deep in the mountains. The two nearest lights were close together, and the further lights far apart. A jolt of unease struck Kita was she realized what she saw.

A Mistral airship.

Something fell from the ship, and Kita strained to see what it was. White, longer than it was wide. As a parachute opened, she realized what it was.

A single human.

" _Strange..._ " Kita thought, donning her mask. " _Why would they send a lone person, after we escaped an entire group? I must be careful._ "

Kita slowly worked her way down the hill, careful to let her feet fall lightly on the snow. She trekked into the forest. Everything, from the lack of wind to the creatures of night, was eerily silent, even for the dead of Winter.

Kita heard footsteps. She ducked behind a tree, and listened. She could tell the steps were a woman's, but a woman taller than herself. Probably, one stronger as well. Kita peered out from behind her makeshift shelter.

She froze as her gaze rested on a lone woman about twenty paces in front of her, who turned her head toward her. The woman wore a white, official-looking coat and combat skirt, which matched her hair. She wore long black boots and a black hat accented in gold. At her hip, a rapier was sheathed.

Kita knew she was the one sent by Mistral.

She knew the woman had caught her presence, and abandoned her hiding place."You there, who are you?" she questioned.

"You don't deserve my true name," the white-clad woman replied sternly. "My code name is White Death. I am a bounty hunter assigned by the Mistral Military to the elimination of rogue huntsmen." She raised the brim of her cap, just enough for Kita's cautious stare to meet her icy silver-blue eyes.

"I have come to claim your life."

Kita bowed her head, knowing a fight was imminent. She slowly unsheathed Kenakuma. "I have pledged my life to the protection of my friends," she stated. "However, I do not intend to fall here."

"Nor do I intend to dirty my perfect success record," White Death insisted. She lowered her voice, as if she spoke only to herself. "The girl in a red and white mask, with an absurdly long blade... _this one should be interesting._ "

White Death's body made a whistling sound as she shot toward Kita like a bullet. Kita barely had time to deflect the lunge to her side, and was nearly knocked off her feet by the impossible momentum behind the attack. She raised her forearm to her eyes to shield them from the plume of ice crystals torn up by her foe. Kita dodged a sideways swipe, then brought Kenakuma across her body in retaliation. Her attack was blocked. White Death hopped backward, then shot forward and thrusted the tip of her rapier at Kita once more, who struck downward to deflect the blow. Kita brought Kenakuma upward, aiming for the neck.

Raising one hand to Kita's incoming blade with a grin, the bounty hunter produced a thick chunk of ice. The dust encapsulated Kita's weapon, weighing it down and rendering her attack useless.

A muted sound of annoyance escaped Kita's mask. She raised her heavy blade with one arm to block a downward thrust, and pulled a small spherical object from her belt. Smoke filled the area as Kita backpedaled, keeping an eye out for her foe and approaching a jagged boulder.

" _A dust user, and skilled with a sword. Perhaps more so than I..._ " Kita analyzed. She struck the chunk of ice across the rock, and freed her blade. " _This will be a difficult fight. It is best I end this quickly._ "

"You tricky girl!" a voice taunted from somewhere within the smoke. " _I HEAR YOU!~_ "

A hole appeared in the smoke as White Death shot forward once again, eyes gleaming against the moonlight. Kita dodged, and the bounty hunter shot through the trunk of an old pine. As it fell toward her, Kita rolled to the side.

Her foe was above her, bearing down with the tip of her rapier trained toward her throat. The rapier left behind a lock of pitch black hair as it sunk through the snow and into the dirt, Kita barely escaping. White Death raised both hands outward, raising a massive icicle from the ground, which thinned from a couple feet across at its widest, to a needle-like point.

Kita struck downward, cutting the icicle in two. It continued to extend past her until abruptly, it stopped. With a crackling noise, the inside edges of the two ice spears sharpened. Kita realized she was in the middle of a massive pair of scissors.

She hit the ground with only a split second to spare, the blades of ice closing above her head with a brutal crushing sound. She rolled out from under the attack, flinging a disorientation grenade toward her foe. With the sound of an amplified gunshot, a blinding flash lit the area. A bright smoke filled the battlefield.

Back at camp, the noise shook Alexandra, Pierce, and Azure awake. Alexandra yawned. "Hmm..?" she pondered sleepily. She shivered, realizing Kita was not next to her to warm her up. "Is there a storm coming?"

"Oh God, I hope not..." Azure groaned. "I just got over my fear of thunderstorms, and now I'm camping on the top of a hill, in the middle of nowhere during one..." She checked the time with Greyson's scroll. "And my shift's next!"

Pierce opened the tent slowly, and moonlight poured in. "Can't be a storm," he replied. "Weather's too clear." He squinted, and his faunus ears flicked toward a noise he caught faintly in the night.

"No... I hear a fight."

Kita rushed through the smoke, toward her disoriented foe. She carried her blade with both arms down at her side, near her sheath. Her feet planted in front of White Death, and she brought the blade upward, cleaving upward from hip to neck. The bounty hunter screamed with both surprise and pain, and Kita reversed her blade, bringing it down across her shoulder.

White Death caught the attack with her rapier. The silver of the blade glinted in the moonlight as it thrust upward with near-impossible strength. Kita nearly lost her weapon, and was met with a flurry of stabs to her stomach. Each thrust felt like a bullet, and tore further through Kita's aura.

Kita sprung backward, and was instantly forced to raise her blade in defense, deflecting a lunge and stepping to her side. Kita answered with a lunging slash, which too was easily blocked. The two danced around each other, dashing with inhuman speed, and still managing to block each attack their opponent had to offer. Kita knew she was evenly matched, if not slightly bested.

White Death laughed in excitement. "This is the first time one of my targets has lasted this long, and the first time one has landed such a blow on me!" She sighed, deflected Kita's blade and dashed at her. "I'm having _so_ much fun!"

Their weapons locked. "Perhaps I would be having fun if the lives of my friends were not at stake," Kita darkly admitted. She thrusted outward, and brought Kenakuma around, and across White Death's stomach. The attack was parried, and Kita dodged a jab aimed for her throat.

Kita risked closing her eyes for a split second, then opened them to analyze her enemy's weak points. The glowing patches of red across the bounty hunter's body were few and far between, morphing endlessly as White Death moved with unreal speed and dexterity. In the time it took her a weak spot to be targeted, Kita thought, the weakness would vanish. White Death slashed through the air several times, producing an assault of ice blades. Kita slashed through each, but White Death took the opportunity to shoot forward, bringing the rapier sideways toward Kita. She deflected the attack, but felt as if she had blocked the claw of an ancient deathstalker. She flung backward, at first tumbling, but regaining her footing and sliding backward on the ice in a kneel.

"It's been fun, but now it's time I end this," White Death said. She sheathed her rapier, and stuck her hands out to the side. As they raised, ice crystals rose from the snow, and coalesced into hundreds of icicles, each the size of an arrow, but twice as thick. They lingered in the air for several seconds as Kita cautiously analyzed. At the same instant, they honed in on Kita, needle-like points aiming for every inch of her body.

"Goodbye."

The icicles shot toward Kita like a hail of arrows. Kita thrust the tip of Kenakuma into the ground.

"Kage no chōshinsei!" Kita shouted. A burst of darkness shot from her blade in every direction like a bomb. When the icicles should have rendered Kita no more than a bloody, unrecognizable mass, she still stood, unharmed. A cloud of breath raised from her mouth, and the moonlight caught one of her eyes through the hole in her mask.

The bounty hunter grunted in annoyance, before lowering her arms and thrusting them outward once again. Four jagged spears of ice snaked along the ground, their pointed tips and razor sharp edges careening toward Kita. She slashed through the attacks one after another, working her way up to her opponent. They locked in combat for several more seconds, before Kita found an opening to sheathe her blade, grab her foe's head, and thrust her through a foot-thick log of ice. White fizzled around the bounty hunter's body as she landed on her back.

Satisfied, Kita walked up to her, Kenakuma unsheathed. She prepared to finish the battle.

With a burst that knocked Kita off her feet, a whirling maelstrom of ice dust ripped ice from the ground, and branches from the trees. The wind dragged Kita across the ground, before she collided painfully with the trunk of an old-growth pine. She staggered to her feet, head spinning.

The storm separated as White Death, clad in an aura of pure white flame, shot at Kita like a missle. She smashed into Kita, bursting through her aura and flinging her dozens of feet through another trunk. The tree splintered, and fell to the side.

Kita lay motionless several feet back, limbs spread across the ground as her vision faded in and out. Her breath escaped with whimpers of pain, and a stream of blood leaked from her hair, onto her forehead, and off the side of her face. It mixed with the blood from the back of her head, and deep red spread through the snow beneath.

She had failed.

White Death approached. Ice shackled Kita's wrists and ankles, but her foe need not bother. Her body would not move.

Memories of her friends flashed into her mind, from seeing the outside world for the first time, to watching matches at the Vytal tournament, celebrating Greyson's birthday, meeting Alexandra, going to the Harvest Festival, and all the times she shared with her friends through Autumn. She hoped they, at least, would escape.

White Death stood over Kita, rapier at her side.

"It's safe to say I'll never forget you," the bounty hunter admitted. "But now, before you die. Tell me where your little friends are."

"Never," Kita refused.

"How heroic," White Death taunted. She stuck her rapier into Kita's chest, jabbing the brand of the exile still burned into her chest. Kita's breath halted as she tried to suppress a shout of agony.

"Even if you torture me until I choke to death on my own blood, I will not yield!" Kita yelled.

"Until you choke on your own blood, you say?" White Death repeated. A sadistic grin came to her face, complimented by the moonlight radiating from her eyes. "What a good idea."

Kita felt her skin tearing as the woman's rapier traced from her chest, up her throat, and onto her chin. A single slash left her mask in two parts, one falling to each side of her face. White Death's boot came down on Kita's jaw, forcing her mouth open.

The tip of White Death's rapier thrust through Kita's tongue, causing unfathomably excruciating pain to radiate through her body. Her potent screams of agony echoed across the foothills and deep into the night, before the blood filling her mouth turned them into little more than a gurgling struggle for air. She coughed up a ball of the thick, red liquid, which splashed back onto her cheek before sinking into the snow.

"If I follow your footprints, I should find base, right?" the bounty hunter taunted. "I'll leave you to bleed out, unless a beowolf catches you first. Goodbye."

Kita gazed blankly at the night sky, vision fading in and out as blood continued to drain from her wounds with each heartbeat. After all she had seen, all the battles fought, and all the miles of travel, she had returned to her home to die.

This one thought alone granted her the slightest bit of solace.

" _You!_ What the _HELL_ did you do to her!?" a woman's voice screamed in fury.

Kita's heart sank. She knew who had come.

Alexandra stood in front of Pierce with cutlass drawn, facial expression a horrifying mixture of rage and anguish. Kita tried to yell for the two to come no closer, but the call came out as a pained groan, which only served to further Alexandra's resolve.

"Her little friends are volunteering themselves for the slaughter?" White Death teased. She raised her rapier, training it toward Alexandra's neck. Alexandra shouted in fear and rage as the bounty hunter closed in with impossible speed.


	46. V3: Burden's Blood

Alexandra braced herself for impact, widening her stance both forward to back, and side to side. The rapier's gleaming point shot toward her with impossible speed.

Yet, it never reached her.

With a nearly inaudible sound of something zipping through the air, a golden beam of lightning dust shot from the trees behind Alexandra, and lodged itself in White Death's chest. Alexandra hopped out of the way as the bounty hunter's momentum petered out and she slid through the snow, face down and stiff as a board.

Azure emerged from the shadow of a thick cedar, lowering Moonbow.

Alexandra ran forward, practically diving on top of Kita in a panicked frenzy. She used one hand to melt the ice dust holding back one of Kita's wrists, and placed the other on Kita's cheek. "Kita! _Please!_ " Alexandra exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes. "Stay awake! Stay with me! Oh, God... there's so much blood. _So_ much blood!"

Kita weakly raised her free hand, and placed it on Alexandra's cheek. She tried to say something, anything that would alleviate her worry. All her mouth produced was a thick surge of blood, which leaked from her lips and across her cheek.

Alexandra pulled back in horror, stumbling to her hands and knees and gagging violently as she covered her mouth. Azure rushed forward to take a look at Kita's wounds. After gathering her composure, Alexandra set to work on freeing Kita's other limbs from the ice, keeping her gaze away from Kita's injuries and hoping to any higher power she would survive. Pierce kept watch, with both his night vision and hearing.

Azure analyzed Kita's injuries. A stab to the sternum, deep enough to reach bone. A gash leading from sternum to neck leaked blood, but avoided anything important. Blunt force injuries to the top and back of the head, skin split from the trauma. She had likely sustained a concussion.

Then, of course, her tongue. White Death had folded Kita's tongue back on itself before forcing the rapier through. The front half of Kita's tongue had been nearly bisected by the rapier's thrust, which cut clean through the tip and left a second gaping hole in the back. For sure, Azure thought, the lingual artery had been severed in multiple places. To avoid infection, or a slow death by blood loss, Azure knew she would need professional treatment.

Azure used a sanitary cloth to wipe the blood from Kita's chest and face, then opened her bag. "Now, I should have some of those leaves you pointed out before... the antiseptic ones that dull pain," she pondered, shuffling through her purse. "Ah. Here."

Kita reluctantly let Azure place the leaves in her mouth, and began to chew. After bandaging up Kita's chest and forehead, Azure and Alexandra helped Kita to her feet. The two stood on each side of Kita, her arms around their shoulders to support her weight as they made their way back to camp. Her legs shook with each cautious step, and her face had gone ghostly pale, coated in sweat.

"One last thing," Pierce called. He had Ace's muzzle pointed at the back of the paralyzed bounty hunter's head. "Do we leave her here alive? It'll be a pain if she catches onto us again."

"Leave her," Azure decided. "Greyson says we want to leave the cleanest trail we can. If we don't have to kill anyone, don't." She turned her head, and looked across Kita. "Alex. She trusts you, so keep her comfortable. This amount of blood loss can lead to anxiety."

"Got it," Alexandra confirmed. With the hand not supporting Kita, she grabbed Kita's own. "It's okay," she assured. "We'll get you back to camp, and we'll get you taken care of."

Kita was silent, a troubled look flashing across her face.

"Greyson! Sweetheart wake up," Azure called, kneeling next to his sleeping form and shaking him awake.

Greyson shook his head slowly, and pulled himself up, halfway to a sitting position and rubbing one eye. "Hmm? Wh... What's up?" he asked.

"Kita's been badly injured. Mistral sent a bounty hunter on us, and we need to leave," Azure reported.

Within a second, Greyson was on his feet. "How bad is it?" he asked, changing into his day clothes.

Azure sighed. "It'll need professional treatment," she said. She looked up to Greyson, desperation clouding her eyes. "I think... I think we need to surrender to Mistral."

The rest of Twilight Crusade was waking, putting on whatever armor they wore, and holstering their weapons. Soon, they had everything packed away, and were ready to hike.

The wind stung Greyson's eyes as he trudged forward through the snow. He took the lead, with Ezelia by his side. Behind him, Greyson could hear Kita panting with each step. Her condition had more or less stabilized, but still Greyson would occasionally glance over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of her struggling along, supported by Alexandra and Azure. Every few steps, a new drop of blood would dribble into the snow.

Eventually, the Sun rose.

"Can we... take a break?" Azure asked through labored breaths. They had been walking for several hours, and her legs had begun to tire.

Greyson took a look around. "Yeah, let's rest a bit. See if we have anything to eat."

"Kita, let me know if you see any plants you know were used in medicine, okay?" Azure suggested.

Kita glanced behind the log she sat on, and located a leafy green plant, with a tall, thin stock, broad leaves, and dark berries; all highly unusual for the frigid temperatures and snow covered ground. Kita pulled a kunai from her belt, and severed the stock. She presented to plant to Azure.

Azure looked horrified. "Kita, that- that's _highly_ toxic. Even I know that!" she reprimanded. Kita sighed, and held the plant across her lap as her eyes drifted to the ground. She raised it to her mouth.

"No!" Alexandra and Azure cried out in unison. Alexandra reached the plant first, snatched it from Kita's grip, and ignited it, reducing the toxic herb to ashes. Kita looked as if she was about to cry, with her head sunk nearly to her knees. Alexandra offered her some food, but she rejected it. Kita looked to her, and struggled through two words.

"Leave me."

Alexandra pulled back with dejected shock, the slightest gasp escaping her. "Wh-What? No. No way," she refused. She turned to Greyson. "Leader. Tell her she's not getting left behind, no matter what!"

"Kita. As leader, there's no way in hell I'm leaving behind one of my friends," Greyson said. "I can tell what you're thinking. That leaving you will get us to safety faster. And who knows, maybe it will. But we're not making that sacrifice, no matter what. Got it?"

"I hear something," Pierce warned. He let out an annoyed grunt. "Damn it. Sounds like a pack of beowolves."

Greyson looked around. In front of him, shadows passed swiftly between the furthest trees he could see. Too fast to count, and too far. "Looks like we're surrounded from the front," he analyzed. "Defensive position, keep Kita in the middle with me, and be careful not to spread out. If at all possible, keep your weapons quiet."

Raven and Azure took out several beowolves with arrows and bolts on their approach. One pounced at Azure as it neared. She dodged right, and threw Moonbow deep into its side. Rusty wrapped Child's Play around the beast's neck, keeping it in place for Ember to finish it off.

Two beowolves charged Raven. She punched outward at one's face with her shield, and dodged the second. Ignoring her, it continued on to Greyson, Kita, and Alexandra. Though she trusted Greyson, she took no chances. She turned around, firing a trio of bolts at the grimm. One in the back of each knee, the third in its head. She heard a vicious snarling behind her, and knew the beowolf she had smashed with her shield was out for revenge.

With the usual burst of fog, a pair of holographic wings burst from Raven's back. The beast halted, and fell into pieces where it stood. Raven turned, and slashed through another beowolf that had come to take its place. She shot forward into three more, quickly granting them the same fate with blade and wing.

As the creatures around her faded, so too did her wings. She provided some backup fire for her friends, but between Azure's marksmanship, Ember and Pierce's unrivalled speed, Rusty's support, and her own semblance, the horde of grimm had thinned out quickly. Few grimm came close to Kita, and those who did were easy despatched by Greyson.

"Raven! You were awesome!" Rusty congratulated.

"Th-Thanks..." Raven exhaustedly replied. She flashed him a tired smile. "I think I'm finally getting control over it."

"Here, come on!" Rusty offered. He put her arm under Raven's shoulder to support her body weight, much like Azure and Alexandra had walked with Kita. "I know you were sleepy before this, so I'll help you along."

"Y-You're the best boyfriend, ever..." Raven happily mumbled. Her head dropped, and Rusty had to shake her from her sudden wave of exhaustion.

Twilight Crusade hiked for the rest of daylight, until the early evening hours. Sunset hues of orange and purple broke through the black canopy above, signalling it was time for Greyson and the rest to find a clearing with a view, set up tents, and camp out for the night. Though the rest of the group heartily devoured the food they had managed to hunt, cook, and gather, Kita refused her meal through an empty stomach. Greyson nearly forced a hunk of meat down her throat in frustration, but after a point even he knew she would refuse.

Greyson slept uneasily that night. He slept next to Kenakuma and Kita's collection of kunai and shuriken, to ensure Kita did not hasten the death she insisted come. But, how could he prevent that death? Greyson vigorously pondered. Would he have to surrender to Mistral to get her professionally treated? Even then, would they take him and his friends alive, and listen to their stories?

He woke at dawn, sleep still trying to hold his eyes shut. Kita's weapons remained by his side, and she still lay nearby with Alexandra. Her rising and falling side assured him she survived the night, but a closer inspection revealed soaked-through bandages, and a stain of blood under her mouth. He sighed, knowing the near impossibility of her making it much further.

The group walked toward the village, hoping to reach it by nightfall. About noon, Azure hunted a trio of hares. Though she had killed them, Greyson was left to the dirty work of cutting and cleaning. Alexandra sat next to Kita on a log, cooking a modest steak over the fire she had helped spark. She turned to Kita, meal held out for her.

"Here, I cooked this one just for you!" she happily offered. "It's a little rare, just how you like it!"

Kita refused the meal, turning her head to the ground.

"Is it too big for you right now?" the dust wielder asked. "I know your tongue hurts, so I can cut it into smaller parts, or mash it up if you want!"

Kita shook her head.

"Stop!" Alexandra suddenly exclaimed. "Eat this, damn it! We're taking you with us! Once our names are cleared, we're getting you to a doctor. We're _not_ leaving you to die! Got it?!"

Kita did not reply.

Alexandra slapped the steak onto the log next to her. With a desperate gasp, she clutched Kita's shoulders, and leaned in, until Kita nearly fell backward off her seat. Her purple and green eyes met Kita's black. "Look, Kita. If you die out here, I'll die a little every day, thinking about how I could have saved you," she earnestly pleaded. She sighed, a pained expression flashing across her face. The beginning of tears formed in her eyes. "Because, you know what? I love you. There, I said it. I know you'll never feel the same. Honestly, I... I probably just ruined our _entire_ friendship. But, I love you. I can't help it."

Kita looked taken aback, her surprise devoid of horror, embarrassment, or disgust at Alexandra's reveal. Alexandra, however, took no notice. She kept her head down, focusing on a twig in the snow. She looked to the steak at her left, and grabbed it once more. Without looking, she offered it to the girl she loved. "Please, Kita. Eat this for me."

Kita accepted.

She took a bite, and though she struggled through the pain with each chew, she eventually swallowed.

"Wait, Alexandra..." Azure softly said. "Does this mean... well, are you..?"

"Lesbian?" Alexandra guessed.

"Yeah," Azure gently confirmed.

Alexandra nodded. "I am. And, I'm sorry I never told anyone," she admitted, her voice still threatening tears. "I was too young to know when I was with my tribe, but as I got older, I started to realize that when I visited the desert villages, the girls would stay in my memory way longer than the boys." She sniffled, and a tear fell. "It wasn't until I was fourteen someone put into words what I was. But, it was the same person who told me I was wrong. They said I was immoral, some freak of nature. Because of them, I tried to deny who I was for so long. I... _threw myself_ at any guy from the villages that would have me. Every time I tried, I realized more and more that I couldn't change."

She wept, hands covering her face, tears leaking between her fingers and into the snow. "I didn't want to tell you guys, because you're my only friends," Alexandra managed between her tears. "Finally, after all that time alone, I found somewhere I feel like I belong. If you didn't accept me, I... I would have nowhere to go!"

"I-It's okay!" Raven assured. "N-None of us w-will judge you like that!"

"Yeah, everyone here's super chill!" Rusty added.

"Don't cry!" Ezelia said. "Your tears will freeze to your face, and I can't imagine that being comfortable!"

"Babe, now is _not_ the time," Dustyn argued.

"Pierce and I are wanted criminals," Ember reminded. "These guys have accepted a lot worse than a girl who likes girls."

"Exactly! There's nothing wrong with being who you are!" Azure chimed in.

"As long as you're strong, you don't piss me off, and you're on my side, I don't give a damn what you're into. That's none of my business," Pierce asserted.

"You're one of us, Alexandra. Nothing can change that," Greyson said. "Especially nothing like this."

Alexandra looked up in disbelief, her tears of anguish shifting to ones of joy and continuing to fall from her smiling eyes. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Kita. The injured huntress smiled at her, and wrapped her arms around Alexandra's shoulders in a tight embrace.

 **Note: Happy Pride Month!**


	47. V3: The Inevitable Encounter

The large analog clock inside downtown Mistral's city council meeting room struck two. Each one of the rows of black, foldable, plastic chairs in the sizeable room was filled. At first by the media, then by a sea of disgruntled, worried, or otherwise curious citizens. The blank white walls, decorated only by regularly spaced windows with a view to the street, lent the room a bleak, barren, atmosphere.

In front of the room, three men and three women sat at a long mahogany table, the microphones in their faces their only shield from the crowd seated opposite them. First, was Mistral's mayor, a large man with a round face and glasses, whose hair had once been as green as the forests around the city, but by now had begun to grey.

"As we all know, the huntsman group known as Twilight Crusade is under suspicion of multiple counts of homicide, after two villages in the Yamakori mountains have been wiped clean off the map," the mayor announced. He signalled the woman next to him, dressed in a tight grey suit that matched her hair and stern, sharply focused eyes. Her hair had not greyed by age, but by nature, much like Greyson's. "This is Shale Slate, the public prosecutor tasked with overseeing the case of Twilight Crusade, provided they are captured alive," he continued. Finally he beckoned to the four at the opposite end of the table, all dressed in official-looking suits and skirts.

"And these are the parents of two of Twilight Crusade's members, Greyson Skye, and Rusty Braun. This meeting has begun, and the floor is open for questions."

"This question is for Mrs. Slate," a man spoke. "Once Twilight Crusade is captured, can you promise punishment will come to them? And is the death penalty an option?"

"As prosecutor, I can never guarantee a victory in any of my cases," the woman in grey responded, voice filled with confidence and composure. "However, I will do everything in my power to see justice done. This being said, I believe the death penalty would be appropriate for the crimes supposedly committed."

"What do you mean ' _supposedly?_ " a woman cut in. "Don't tell us you think they're innocent!"

"Our justice system mandates we hold all defendants to be innocent until proven guilty," Mrs. Slate replied, voice stern and unyielding. "It goes without saying there is a large amount of evidence toward Twilight Crusade having committed these crimes. However, as of right now, I cannot state for certain they are the guilty party."

Her statement was met by a plethora of jeers from the crowd, all of which she took with an adamant glare.

"Mister Skye!" a voice yelled. "You've claimed your son is innocent multiple times, yet how can we take the word of the defendant's _father_ over the _hundreds_ of people killed?"

"First of all, I do agree what has taken place in the North is a horrific tragedy," Greyson's father began. "But, Greyson and his friends are around to _help_ people like that, not kill them. I maintain my statement that they have been framed, their flag planted by the Garnett family. Military reports have stated the flag, in both villages, was found to be taken down _after_ Twilight Crusade was believed to have passed through."

"You sound so certain, good sir," a pompous-sounding elderly man heckled from the back of the room. "But how can you explain the death of one Lucius Garnett, found brutally murdered in Nibanme village, _after_ Twilight Crusade had passed through?"

Mr. Skye grit his teeth, casting his eyes downward to avoid the barrage of camera flashes.

Kita's arms still wrapped around Alexandra's shoulders, and Alexandra's hands made their way slowly, cautiously, to Kita's back. She took it all in for several seconds. Her friends accepted who she was. Kita did as well. She was eating, and finally not determined to be left to die. Tears threatened to fall again, this time from Alexandra's joy.

Kita pulled back, and Alexandra followed suit. "I-" Kita began, but she was cut off by a finger thrust to her mouth, signalling her to be quiet.

"You, uh... you shouldn't talk!" Alexandra shakily replied in an attempt to deflect the rejection she knew was imminent. "Your tongue still hurts, so, y'know, you should rest it."

Azure sighed. "She's right. You should do your best to keep it in one place," she agreed. "And any food from here on out should be mashed up a bit more."

After a few more minutes' deliberations, Twilight Crusade was back on their feet. Kita could more or less walk unsupported, although the volume of her blood loss resulted in her struggling along and nearly collapsing, Azure and Alexandra both advocating for breaks along the way.

Just before the sun set, Greyson smelled smoke.

He swore under his breath. "Kita. Are we near the Shrouded Fox camp?" he gently asked.

She shook her head.

Greyson felt a twinge of relief, but still knew something was amiss. "She said earlier there was another village before the Shrouded Fox. Let's go!" he commanded. Twilight Crusade began to run.

After about ten minutes, Greyson's eyes landed on a sight he had hoped to never see again. Through the trees in front of him, a village's smoldering remains cast smoke to the sky. It seemed to be more developed than the last two, streets of laid stone and huts made of logs. A handful of carts dotted the streets, torn apart and smoldering like the huts they parked next to. As Greyson slowed down, inching closer to the third destroyed village, the stench of blood overpowered the smell of smoke. Bodies littered the town, many laying across the streets, some halfway out of their homes, others frozen or burnt where they stood. The fire in several buildings further into the village raged on, as if recently set.

"The body's still warm..." Ember noted, kneeling next to the form of a man. "Whatever happened, it's happened recently."

"Split up again, and look for survivors. We should have CCTS service down here, so group call if anything's wrong, or if you find someone," Greyson ordered. Twilight Crusade spread across the village, over the course of the next few minutes cautiously scouring it for survivors.

Ezelia and Dustyn searched through a cluster of tightly-spaced huts, peeking down alleyways and peering in windows for survivors. Both knew to make little noise. Some instinct, a chill in the air or a stroke of luck, kept them silent.

Dustyn froze. His grip on Ezelia's shoulder caught her attention, and she turned to face him. With wide eyes, the grip on her shoulder released, and his hand raised to the window. He pointed through it. Ezelia at first looked through the room, which seemed relatively untouched. Yet, as her gaze exited the hut through the window on the far wall, she too froze.

A woman clad in black, with pale skin and hair dark as night, strolled through view, a satisfied grin stretched across her lips. Atop her head sat Crown Jewel. With a trembling finger, Dustyn called the group. He suppressed Greyson's voice as it came through to ask what was wrong, then flicked his finger quietly on the scroll's microphone several times, in his best guess at a distress signal. Three short notes, followed by three long ones and three more short.

"I-I found a l-little girl! Sh-She's alive!" Raven reported from the other end.

"A little girl!?" Alexandra nearly shouted.

Dustyn's heart sank as Mrs. Garnett's head turned, apparently at the cue of Alexandra's voice. He hung up the call, and signalled for Ezelia to hide with him between the pile of firewood and the hut's outer wall. They heard footsteps pass around the hut's nearest corner, and feared their pounding hearts would tip her off. Mrs. Garnett continued on.

At the other end of the village, a tiny young girl with a mop of brown hair trembled in fear where she hid. She had taken refuge in the branches of a pine bush, which met the village's wall. Raven knelt next to the bush, gently trying to coax the girl out as Rusty kept watch. The girl could have not been older than seven, Raven thought, and even then was small for her age.

"C-Come on, i-it's okay. We won't hurt you, I-I promise!" Raven assured, holding her hand out.

The girl backed deeper into the bush, eyes wide as saucers.

"Wh-What's wrong?" Raven asked. She brushed a feathery strand of hair from her face, then paused. "I-Is it my hair? D-Do you not like it?"

The little girl nodded.

Raven backed off, face both sad and understanding. Luckily, Alexandra sprinted to the group just then, nearly knocking Raven aside as she leapt toward the bush. "Hey! Come with me! You'll be safe with us, don't worry!" she pleaded. The girl looked to her with fearful eyes, then cautiously held her hand out. With a gentle smile, Alexandra pulled the girl from the bush. "That's it, you're safe now," she assured.

Just then, Greyson and Azure jogged up. "Is the girl safe?" Greyson asked.

Azure checked up on the girl, while Alexandra asked questions to make sure she was not hurt. After a couple of minutes, they found her to be uninjured, but orphaned and immensely afraid.

Greyson held his scroll up, once again calling the group. "The girl's not hurt, but we need to get her somewhere safe," he stated. He sighed, downcast gaze signalling defeat. "...And our current situation is no place for a little girl."

"Kita's still injured," Azure reminded. "She's doing better, but infection could set in at any time, and she's still losing blood."

"Maybe it's time we surrender," Greyson admitted grimly.

"Wh-What will Mistral do t-to us?" Raven asked. She meant the question for no one, as she knew there to be no telling what would happen.

"I'll try to strike some kind of deal," Greyson pledged. "Whether they hold up their end is entirely up to them."

"Pierce and I found some kind of signal," Ember reported. "It looks like it might be used to alert the military of a grimm attack."

"Got it, I'll be over. Dustyn called, but hasn't talked yet. Ember. Can you go make sure he's okay?" Greyson asked. After Ember confirmed, he turned to Azure. "Come with me. You're better with people than I am."

As Greyson and Azure hastened away, Alexandra's attention turned back to the girl Raven found. "I want you to tell me who did this," the dust wielder delicately asked. "What did they look like?"

"U-Umm, k-kind of... like her..." the girl said with a voice barely audible, lifting a finger toward Raven. "H-Her skin was really light, a-and her- her hair was dark like that. But, her eyes were... they were lighter."

"It's her," Alexandra growled.

"M-Mrs. Garnett?" Raven inquired.

Alexandra nodded. "It has to be." she turned back to the girl. "How long ago did this happen? When was she last here?" she asked.

"When was who last here?" a woman's teasing voice called from behind the group. A voice like nails on chalkboard, that sent a shiver down Alexandra's spine. The little girl cried out in terror, diving back into hiding. With wide eyes, Raven deployed her shield and stood with Rusty.

"It's not nice to talk about people behind their backs, you know," Midna Garnett taunted. She stood twenty feet behind the group, on a wide street between two huts. A flurry of ice dust surrounded her, coating the ground in a layer of frost.

Alexandra's teeth grit, overcome by saturated rage. Here she was, finally confronting the one responsible for the death of her tribe. Responsible for another girl going through exactly what she did. Yet, she was powerless. The cutlass at her side was not near enough to fight Mrs. Garnett in her usual state, let alone with Crown Jewel in possession.

"Come to die like your monster of a husband?" Alexandra taunted. "That was real smart, leaving him alone with us."

Mrs. Garnett laughed. A cruel giggle at first, crescendoing into a wicked roar of laughter. "You precious girl. You think there was _love_ in that marriage?" she boasted. "I knew with him out of the way, the Garnett fortune would be all mine. You and your little crew gave me the perfect opportunity, all while making the masses distrust you that. Much. _More."_ Another shriek of laughter. "Talk about digging your own graves!"

"I... I'm s-sorry..." Raven whimpered. "That's... that was my fault."

"Don't let her get into your head. We haven't lost yet," Alexandra replied. "But what kind of monster leads her own husband to his death?!"

"That's just business. Nothing a vagrant like you would understand," Mrs. Garnett taunted. "I take what I want and who I want, as one of the ones chosen by the Brother of Destruction."

"Ch-Chosen?" Raven replied. She steadied her arm, to stop her shield from quivering as she spoke. "I-Is that why e-every one of your sacrifices h-has led to failure? Y-You're delusi-"

"QUIET!" Mrs. Garnett snapped. In an instant, she sent a massive spear of ice at Raven. She blocked the attack, but was thrust backward through the village's brick wall.

"RAVEN!" Rusty yelled.

"Rusty! Take the little girl, and get out of here!" Alexandra commanded. As he nervously complied, Alexandra faced down Midna Garnett. Alexandra knew, deep in her heart, the day would come when the two fought. Yet, so much more was on the line than she knew. Not only vengeance for her tribe, but vengeance for all the faunus killed by the malevolent fantasy she called her religion. Not only vengeance for her tribe, but the life of her friends. The life of the girl she had loved since they first met.

Alexandra did not know if she could win against her opponent, but knew she would fight until the bitter end.


	48. V3: The Inevitable Clash

**HUGE thank you to everyone who's stuck with my story so far! Thanks for bearing with me as I learned to write (I read some of GRAE V1 and it was baaad), leaving reviews, and helping my story become what it is today!**

* * *

Mrs. Garnett shrieked with laughter once again. "What, do you have a deathwish?" she taunted. She pointed to Crown Jewel. "This wonderous crown's potential was wasted on you! Even with it, you couldn't hope to stand against me!"

"Shut! _Up!_ " Alexandra yelled. "Crown Jewel is not to be used for murder! Its powers are meant to protect!"

"Then what makes it any different than that blade you point at me?" Mrs. Garnett goaded. "A weapon gains it use when you use it. Therefore, Crown Jewel is meant to kill. It's meant to take in the souls of those below me!"

"Everyone, stay back!" Alexandra ordered.

"No way!" Rusty called. "You can't fight her alone!"

Mrs. Garnett used Alexandra's brief moment of distraction to send a swirling torrent of flame down the village's street. The vicious heat shattered the windows of the surrounding huts, bouncing off the street and toward the group of huntsmen. Rusty ducked behind the village's brick wall just in time to watch a jet of flame shoot through the hole Raven had created, and into the forest. Alexandra ducked behind the nearest hut, and ran in the opposite direction of where she figured the rest of Twilight Crusade to be.

"Running now, are we?" Alexandra heard a voice yell. " _Too late!_ "

A deafening blast rocked the hut nearest Alexandra, knocking her off her feet as the building exploded. She rolled to avoid a splinter the width of her wrist and length of her arm, and kept running. She rounded the corner of a second hut just before another explosion levelled it. She continued on, until she reached the village's main street.

Greyson stood in a large building, which had been relatively untouched. Parchment documents sat on old-fashioned table of a dark wood, never to be read again. Behind the desk, a cushioned black chair and a row of bookshelves. Greyson had one hand on the strange device Ember guessed was a signal of sorts. The machine was ancient, one long handle with speakers on both ends, supported by a base with buttons signalling numbers one through nine. Below the nine, a long button was lit up red.

Greyson's other hand fidgeted. "Are we sure this is our only choice?" he pondered. Half to Azure, half to himself. "We don't even know if Mistral will take us alive. They haven't exactly shown that they would in the past."

"Kita's tongue still needs treatment," Azure reminded. "Plus, that little girl really needs-"

A deafening burst shook Greyson, and caused Azure to stumble before she caught herself on the desk. Greyson looked out the window to see a column of fire and smoke rise into the air on the other end of the village. With a deep breath, Greyson pressed the red button.

Within seconds, someone picked up. "Mistral Military, Northern base," a man's voice answered. "What is the emergency?"

"This is Greyson Skye, leader of the huntsman group Twilight Crusade," Greyson reported. He heard rustling on the other end of the line, before another voice broke through the background.

"Twilight Crusade?!" the second voice, an older man's, called from the background. "Send all ships in the area! Cut off their escape!"

"There will be no need for that," Greyson replied. A second explosion rocked the village. "I'd like to negotiate a surrender. We will surrender peacefully, on four conditions. One, is that you take us in without force. We will not resist. Two, the little girl we've rescued is to be taken in safely, and given whatever therapy and medical help she needs. Three, the woman we're currently locked in combat with is a criminal, and will be treated as such. Four, a full-scale investigation is launched into the Garnett company and its owners."

Greyson heard a sigh from the other end of the line. "...Very well."

Mrs. Garnett raised both hands outward, shaping the air's moisture into two jagged walls of ice. "Nowhere for you to run now, is there?" Mrs. Garnett tormented, voice a sickeningly sarcastic imitation of empathy.

Alexandra's eyes flicked upward for a split second, to where she noticed Kita perched on the roof of a smoldering hut. She held a spherical object in her hand. "That's fine with me," Alexandra calmly replied. "Because I'm done running from you."

The dust wielder shielded her eyes as Kita lobbed the sphere toward Mrs. Garnett, and it exploded with a flash and an ear-splitting crack. Thick grey fog surrounded the battlefield, and Alexandra ran toward her foe.

"Stand back! I've got her!" Pierce shouted through the cloud. He used his semblance in mid air to dodge a spike of ice sent his way, and shot past Mrs. Garnett from the other direction.

Alexandra grinned as Pierce appeared from the fog, clutching Crown Jewel.

"What!?" Mrs. Garnett screamed. A plume of fire sent Alexandra's way dispersed the fog. "DAMN _YOOOU!_ "

Alexandra adjusted the crown on her head, and felt the familiar surge of power course through her veins. She raised one hand to her front, and a wall of stone built up from the street, shaking the ground. Mrs. Garnett's fire shot upward upon contact, until it dispersed high in the air.

The jet of flame stopped, and Mrs. Garnett propelled herself to the top of Alexandra's wall with a rising platform of stone. With a wicked smile, she raised her hand in the air, and closed her fist. Alexandra heard crackling noises as the icy walls next to her produced a barrage of spikes, which closed in on her like an iron maiden. She dodged to avoid one, then ducked backward under a second. As she stood up and hopped forward to dodge a third, she produced a shield of stone from the ground at her feet, and used it to block several more attacks. She then shoved her flat palm toward the ground, and a plume of fire spread in every direction to melt the ice. She tossed the shield into the air, transforming it into a dangerously sharp spear of stone. She caught it, and threw it at her foe.

Mrs. Garnett raised her hand to split the spear down its middle. As the two halves clattered to the street, she jumped down, once again level with her foe. Without so much as a second of pause, Alexandra produced a series of stalagmite icicles, each with their tip aimed for Mrs. Garnett's throat. Her opponent answered with a blast of flame, which melted the ice where it stood. With one arm keeping the pillars of water in place, she raised her other arm to the sky and pulled it downward, summoning a bolt of lightning. The crackling yellow beam arched between the watery spires, then flung itself at Alexandra, who tore up a wall of dirt to avoid the attack. All that injured her were the shards of stone as her wall exploded.

She raised her hands to stop the remaining shards in mid air, and transformed them into a barrage of stony skewers. She shot them forward at her opponent, who formed a disc of ice from the air to block the hail of stone. With a second hand, Alexandra caught her opponent off guard with two skewers of stone from the dirt. They collided with her stomach, and Mrs. Garnett let out a scream of pain.

The scream turned into another laugh. "Who knew?!" Mrs. Garnett exclaimed. "The little girl who hid away with Crown Jewel wouldn't just be another corpse in the end!"

Alexandra watched cautiously without reply until Mrs. Garnett snapped her arm outward, and a stream of white wind shot from her hand. Alexandra responded with a jet of flame. The two attacks met in the middle, glacial cold and blistering heat pushing against each other with the force of two elemental freight trains. Suddenly, Alexandra's fire shot back at her. With less than a second to spare, she switched hands and shot a blast of ice. The two had switched elements, and once again were evenly matched. With her other hand, Alexandra ripped several jagged spires of ice from the wall next to Mrs. Garnett, once again making contact. A cloud of fog escaped Mrs. Garnett's mouth as she sighed in irritation.

" _Tempus Diapsalma._ "

Throughout the village, her foes froze in time. Greyson and Azure still stood at the signal, on the line with Mistral. Rusty and Raven sat outside the village with their backs to the wall, Raven's mouth frozen open with comforting words for the girl they had rescued. Ember was frozen in her stealthy stance, head peeking around a building to watch the battle, Dustyn and Ezelia steps behind. Pierce and Kita both watched from the top of a building, bodies unmoving.

Finally, Alexandra stood still with a smirk on her face, fingers clutching Crown Jewel tightly to her head.

Mrs. Garnett walked up to her, a growl of anger intensifying into a scream of rage. She tried prying the crown from Alexandra's fingers, but to no avail. She stepped backward, and raised both arms. Massive chunks of ice, the size and shape of hundreds of blades, made cracking noises as they pulled from Mrs. Garnett's walls of ice. The icicles hung in the air threateningly, tips pointed at Alexandra's unmoving form.

Time resumed.

Alexandra gasped at the hail of icicles that suddenly bore down on her. Throwing her arms outward, she created a massive explosion of intense flame, which leveled the huts nearest her that still stood. Everything was obscured by mist, and a rain began to fall.

As her aura fizzled around her in a purple hue, depleted by her own attack, Alexandra tore a line of jagged stone up from the street, the spine of spikes threading its way through the mist and toward Mrs. Garnett with impossible speed. The ground at her feet exploded when the spikes arrived, and she was thrust into the air with a scream of pain.

Stone twisted upward like a viscous liquid, and Mrs. Garnett slammed into it, spread eagle. Alexandra's fist clenched, and shackles of stone encased her foe's hands, feet, and stomach, rendering her unable to move.

"Hey! You did it!" Rusty called. He appeared from around the corner of a side street, near the captured woman. He turned his head. "Greyson, we can get her arrested, and get outta here!"

"No," Alexandra grimly responded. "I'm going to kill her."

"Please," Greyson pleaded, as he appeared from behind Mrs. Garnett's shackled form with Azure. "I understand what you feel. But we can't kill her. We're surrendering to Mistral, and they've agreed to take her in."

"You've already beaten her!" Azure chimed in. "Isn't that enough?"

"Don't... Don't try to stop me!" Alexandra insisted. "I've waited my entire life for this moment! To avenge the Inyan tribe!"

"I-It... It won't feel as good as you think it will..." Raven added. "Wh-When I k-killed Mr. Garnett, a-all I felt was-"

"Stop!" Alexandra interrupted. Her voice, saturated with fury, began to carry the weight of tears. "There were times when I nearly starved to death in the desert. Vultures started to pick me apart, and the thought of revenge was the only thing keeping me alive!" She stumbled to her knees, a single tear falling to the frozen ground. "If I don't get revenge, I've lived for nothing, this whole time. My... _my entire life has been pointless!_ "

"Alexandra," Kita began.

"Hey, Kita-" Azure started, concerned for the injuries in Kita's mouth.

"Let her talk," Greyson gently urged. Azure looked to him, then Kita. She sighed.

"Your life has not been pointless," Kita stated. "Think of all those whose lives you saved at the Harvest Festival. Think of the child you saved today. Think of your friends, and how you have made their lives better by being with them." A gentle smile crept across Kita's lips, and she approached Alexandra. She knelt next to her, placing her hand on her heart. "And think of me. The one who loves you."

Alexandra looked up to Kita, teary eyes wide in disbelief. The beginnings of a smile worked their way across her quivering lips.

Before she could get out any words, the roar of an engine drowned out all noise, and a spotlight shone on the scene. Kita pulled Kenakuma from her belt, and put both arms behind her head in a sign of surrender, watching Greyson and Azure do the same. The rest of Twilight Crusade followed suit, the wind from the airship's engines whipping through their hair, and the spotlight casting eerily defined shadows.

Greyson looked up to the ship, face illuminated by the light. He watched as the mass of steel began to land.

* * *

 **Note: I came up with that last scene entire by listening to "I Want to Know" from the Kill la Kill OST, and I can't imagine the scene without it.**

 **Note 2: I'm really sorry, but the conclusion to volume 3 won't be for at least a week. I'm going on a short vacation in a few days, and I doubt I'll be able to finish the chapter by then with packing and all.**


	49. V3: The Shrouded Fox

The ship's engine turned off, leaving the noise to echo across the valley as silence crept in. Then, multiple sets of boots on pavement. A dozen Mistral military men and women surrounded Twilight Crusade, assault weapons pointed to their heads. Greyson stayed still in his kneel of surrender, heart beating out of his chest and hoping with every ounce of his being he would not hear the crack of gunfire.

One soldier, with more stars adorning his thick, white, military coat than the rest approached. Greyson was shoved forward, and his face slammed into the frigid ground as he felt the cold steel of handcuffs around his wrists.

"You're Greyson Skye, correct? Leader of Twilight Crusade?" the military officer questioned in a gruff voice.

"Yes sir," Greyson confirmed. "...The girl with black hair, wearing the skirt. She's injured. Please be careful with her."

"Yeah, sure," the officer apathetically replied. He turned to the rest of his squad. "Load 'em up."

Greyson was forced to his feet, and shoved onto the airship with his friends. It gave Greyson the slightest hint of nostalgic sadness, reminding him of the airship he had flown across continents, which was now no more than a hunk of steel slowly being swallowed by the snow. He was shown to one of many seats lined up on the wall of the ship, backs to the window. All of Twilight Crusade joined him apart from Kita, who was ushered to the onboard treatment center in the back by a woman with mint green hair, and Azure, who followed. Being treated as a victim rather than a criminal, she had the slightest bit more freedom than her friends.

"Cold, pale skin, rapid heart rate, and shallow breathing," the medic analyzed, hunched over the huntress who lay on the seat before her. "Much more time, and this would have been a case of exsanguination."

"I tried my best at treating her, but I couldn't do much about the tongue. That's where she ended up losing most of the blood," Azure explained. "She'll need a transfusion, right?"

"Right. Is the patient's blood type known?" the medic responded. Azure paused, searching her mind for any memory from the last time Kita had been hospitalized.

"It is red," Kita replied.

"Go ahead and list that one as unknown," Azure responded sheepishly.

The medic looked in the airship's drawers for several seconds, before the sudden shock of the airship taking off nearly knocked her off her feet. Several bottles of pills and medical tools clattered across the floor. She started picking them up with Azure's help, before a bout of turbulence shook the cabin. The medic swore, and left the back room.

"The patient needs a blood transfusion as soon as possible," she urged. "We need to land. It would be best if we found somewhere with a spare bed."

"A spare bed in Northern Mistral?" the pilot scoffed. "Good luck. If you find a place, sure."

Greyson's head rose in attention. "Actually," he said. "...I think I know a place."

After several minutes of arguments and deliberation, the airship slowly lowered from the layer of clouds. A familiar building came into view, the hexagonal cabin on a concrete slab Greyson and friends had lived in during their investigation of the Shrouded Fox.

One of the soldiers forced his way inside, and the rest followed with Twilight Crusade in tow. Immediately, a wave of warmth hit Greyson, the first he had known just over a week. He took it in. At times, he no longer knew if he would ever feel warmth again, or rest on a chair's cushions with a roof over his head. The building was a welcome change of pace.

Most were ushered to the living room on their right to be held for questioning about why they had come North, what they saw in the villages, and if they were the ones to commit the crimes of which they were accused. Throughout, Alexandra nervously glanced around the squadron in front of her, hoping for even the quickest glance at Kita, who had gone with Azure, the medic, and a lower-ranking soldier to the bedrooms, heavy cases of medical equipment in their arms.

"Azure," Kita called in a hushed whisper. "Does this mean we cannot visit the Shrouded Fox?"

"Yeah, I think that's what it means," Azure replied empathetically. She opened her mouth, about to suggest they come back. Yet, without an airship, coming back was near impossible.

"Shrouded Fox, huh?" the medic responded from across the room. She turned around, anaesthetic syringe in hand. "You're one of them?"

"...Yes," Kita admitted. "We had come up North, as I wished to visit my home and the celebration of me becoming an adult would be soon. We were accused of a crime we did not commit."

"That's why we know about this place," Azure explained, pointing to the ceiling. "We stayed here back when we went to Beacon, because we were assigned to a mission. We helped stop a grimm attack, and Kita joined us."

"You know, I really shouldn't believe any of what you're saying. You guys were ordered to be taken in dead or alive," the medic stated. "...But, I was the one that treated the bounty hunter, and the one to look at the bodies left in the villages. The arrow wound to White Death looked intentionally non-lethal. The bodies had no wounds consistent with any of your weapons. It looked to be mostly done by dust, a rapier, or a lance."

"The Garnetts," Azure concluded. She looked to the door, then back to the medic. "Don't believe a thing they say. _They_ abducted _me._ I want to be with Greyson, I'm not a hostage! They sacrifice faunus!"

"Look, I'm just a medic," the green-haired woman began. "I'm not in charge, but if need be I'll put in a good word for you two." She focused in, eyes cold and honed in on the injection she administered into Kita's tongue. "Once we're done here -maybe in the morning, actually- I'll let you and whoever the other guys let free go on a little walk, alright?"

Kita tried to respond, but found her tongue unwilling to move. "To the Shrouded Fox?" Azure guessed.

"I'll let you out for, I don't know, a couple hours? You'll be supervised, but it's none of my business where you decide to go," the medic said casually.

The rest of the night was surprisingly uneventful. Alexandra joined Kita in the medical room, spending the night sleeping at her bedside. Twilight Crusade took turns in the building's shower, washing off layers of grime and letting the warm water return feeling to their fingertips. Later, they filled the bedrooms, each door guarded by a member of the military. For a bit, at least, Greyson could forget all that had happened. As he lay awake, eyes opened to the pale grey ceiling, he nearly fooled himself into believing everything since the Shrouded Fox investigation was a bad dream. Of course Alexandra was a welcome addition to the team, and his crew had saved a fair few lives, but Greyson reminisced of the times before the Fall of Beacon, before the Church of Awakening and before being framed as public enemy number one. Eventually, he drifted to sleep.

Just after dawn, the medic allowed Kita, Azure, and Alexandra on their supervised walk. Kita led the way, yet Alexandra noticed something. She carried herself with uncharacteristic unease, casting nervous glances to the woods every few steps, hands fidgeting. After roughly half an hour, they reached the crest of a hill, and Kita looked down on what had been her home.

"A village?" one of the soldiers questioned. He readied his weapon. "You brought us over here so you could let us watch your dirty work, did you?!"

"No, no!" Azure urgently cut in. "This is her home. My friends told you this is why we came, right?"

Kita removed her sheathe from her belt, and placed it at the feet of the nearest soldier. "My tribe does not take kindly to outsiders," she explained. "Please wait outside. To prove we have no ill intent, we will leave our weapons here."

"...Fine. Just be back in time," the highest-ranking soldier yielded, watching Azure set down Moonbow. He turned to Alexandra. "You too, young lady. I bet you can guess why I'm not keen on letting a dust wielder roam wherever she wants."

Alexandra sighed, then raised a head-shaped block of stone from the ground, and placed Crown Jewel on it. "Fine, I get it. But careful with this, okay?" she pleaded. "Don't touch it."

She followed behind Kita, with Azure taking up the rear.

"Three outsiders approach!" a man with the usual Shrouded Fox accent shouted from the guard tower. "State your tribe, wanderers!"

"I am Kita Kurayami, an exile with honor restored," Kita said. "I am returning home to visit, and I have brought friends."

"...Very well," the man replied. "You may enter."

Kita bowed, and continued forward. The village was just as she remembered, a spiderweb of stone and wood huts, and streets of packed dirt. Despite the overnight snowfall, the roads were already clear. It was custom for the eldest male of each Shrouded Fox dwelling to clean the roadway nearest their house during the mornings of the Season of Cold. Seldom did a section of roadway not get cleared.

Kita led Alexandra and Azure near the village center, where a dwelling sat in the across the road and in the shadow of the tallest, most regal hut. Though dwarfed by the building it sat next to, it was larger, and built of a sturdier wood than huts further to the edges of the camp. Its roof was made of dark wood planks, as opposed to the thatched-roof design covering most of the village.

Staring down the building she grew up in, Kita hesitated. Her heart pounded, and her breath escaped in uneven clouds of mist. "What's wrong? Don't you wanna see them again?" Alexandra inquired, gently putting her arm around Kita's shoulders.

Kita stepped forward from Alexandra's arm. The dust wielder pulled her head back, sad look of confusion flashing across her face. Finally, Kita knocked on the door.

A man opened the door, dressed in robes of red. He was middle-aged, yet despite his wrinkles and hair beginning to thin, one could tell he was handsome in his prime. His hair was pulled back, and wrapped at the crown of his head in several inches of red fabric, until popping out in a bushy ponytail. At a low table near a fireplace, a woman looked up from her painting, which Kita noticed was of a red and black-clad young woman wielding a sword. She was dressed in all black and looked exactly like Kita, plus a few decades.

"Kita! You are home!" the man exclaimed. He hugged his daughter, then backed up as his wife abandoned her painting to take her turn. "...And you are injured!"

"I fought a foe much stronger than any I have encountered," Kita explained. "But I will survive. Do not fear for me."

"Yes, yes. 'Be proud of your scars, for they are mementos of battles you have won,'" Kita's father proudly said.

"The Great Shrouded Fox told me of your coming in a dream," Kita's mother began. A smile came to her face. "And, She has told me much else. She told me you were involved in a grand battle, one which changed the course of history. Then, during the Season of Warmth, you helped save a great many lives twice, and once more during the Season of Harvest." Her countenance shifted, happiness fading. "...Yet, She had fallen silent recently. I feared for what had become of you, until She said you found someone you loved, and you were returning soon."

Kita's heart halted in her chest.

"You did not bring this man?" Mr. Kurayami inquired. "If you were coming to visit, I had hoped to meet him."

Kita took a deep breath. "I brought... _her,_ " she struggled.

Feeling the eyes of Kita's parents burning into her, and seeing a plethora of blades mounted to the hut's wall, Alexandra managed an awkward smile and a shaky wave.

"It is... another woman?" Kita's mother inquired.

Kita's heart continued to pound. "Yes. I... I am sorry. I do not know if the Great Shrouded Fox approves. I am worried She does not, and she no longer casts her grace upon me. But this woman has shown me the most genuine bond I have ever felt. I truly love her."

"The Great Shrouded Fox told me you found someone with the strength to move mountains, a warrior who survived a land of searing heat for a decade. She told me the warrior will treat you well, and make you happier than anyone," Kita's mother said. "Therefore, I approve. I feel She does too."

Kita's lower jaw hung open slightly, wide eyes beginning to form tears of joy. "I... I have been so scared!" she admitted. "I abandoned my tribe, I have loved a man who loved another, then loved a woman. I felt surely the Great Shrouded Fox no longer looked upon me. But I guess I was wrong."

"Kita, She has given you her blessing this entire time," Kita's father comforted. "Before Elder Aozora joined the stars, late in the Season of Warmth, he too thought of you."

"Elder Aozora has joined the stars?" Kita inquired sadly. "So... Aka now leads. With my absence, who did he take as his wife?"

"Midori, of the Shinri family," Kita's father stated.

"Ah, she was as a sister to me in my youth," Kita reminisced. "Is she here? May I see her?"

"Midori is on a hunt. She said she would return at noon," Kita's father replied.

Kita sighed wistfully. "Sadly, we cannot stay long. Do tell them I wish them happiness."

"Is that a flute?" Kita's mother cut in, appearing at Alexandra's side.

"Oh, yeah!" Alexandra nervously replied. "I made it from desert stone."

"Desert? What is desert?" Kita's mother asked in reply.

"It's where I grew up," Alexandra began to explain. "It's really hot, and there aren't any trees. Just a lot of light brown stone and sand. Oh! But sometimes the rocks stick up into the sky, kind of like trees. And they make... mountains, you could call them. With steep sides and flat tops."

"Sounds far different from the land we know," Kita's mother responded. She turned to her daughter with a slight bow. "I have a gift," she stated. She walked to the other side of the hut, where she found a flat wooden instrument, with strings held up across it by bits of stick that protruded from the base.

"Our koto?" Kita asked, taking the instrument in with two hands.

"Yes," Kita's mother confirmed with a bow. "Perhaps with this you two can play a duet, as those in love do."

Kita's eyes once again began to water as she hugged her mother in a thankful embrace. Kita's mother then welcomed Alexandra to join the hug.

Before long, Kita knew it was time to leave. She said her goodbyes, then met back up with the military men at the top of the hill. The walk back, Kita was far more at ease. Halfway through, her fingers interlocked with Alexandra's. Not long after they returned to base, they were loaded on board the airship.

Restrained to his chair, Greyson looked to the cloudy skies through the windows on the other end of the cabin. No matter how hard he tried to use his semblance, there was no telling what lie ahead for him. Of course, the Garnett family could afford better lawyers. That alone put him at a disadvantage. Whether this would lead to his imprisonment, he could not tell. All he knew was the era of being on the run was over. The slightest feeling arose in his head. Suddenly, he was sure of one thing.

His journey had nearly reached its end.

* * *

 **A/N: That's a wrap for TC Volume 3! This one was full of big fights, so the answer to this might have changed. What's your favorite fight in the series so far? And what are some other favorites that stick out to you?**


	50. Short: Mask of the Fox

**Alright, this is a little embarrassing. I decided not to add this scene at first because the last chapter was already so long, but then I realized this is the scene that has the most symbolic impact and actually brings closure to Kita's character arc. So, here it is. This happens just after Kita gets the family heirloom koto.**

Kita held the instrument in her hands, feeling the familiar curve of the back, and the surprising weight. It had been in her family for generations, sitting in the corner of her hut since long before her birth, and perhaps before the birth of her father. She ran her fingers along the middle strings, and plucked once. She plucked several more times after the twang of the first faded away, fidgeting with the instrument rather than truly playing it.

"Kita, what is the matter?" the huntress's father inquired. "You appear distressed."

Kita sighed, and set the Koto down on the wooden table next to her, behind Alexandra. She then produced her mask, split down the middle and rendered unwearable by White Death. "In the fight I was injured, this happened," she admitted. "After everything, with me abandoning the tribe, and loving another woman, I was sure this meant I was no longer watched over by the Great Shrouded Fox."

"Kita..." her mother began. "The Great Shrouded Fox continues to watch over you, wherever you go. Though you may stray from our path, She knows your heart is true."

"We must go to the Shaman, we will have your path blessed, and a new mask will be bestowed upon you," her father added.

Kita nodded once. "We must be quick," she reminded. "An entire nation demands we return."

Kita and Alexandra, along with the Kurayami family, left the hut, and entered the one across the street. It was built permanently into the center of the Shrouded Fox village, constructed of light wood planks all around the outside. On the interior, an array of support beams made a second floor possible; an architectural feat not replicated anywhere in the village.

Kita's father knocked three times at the door, hearing the tone echo deeply throughout the building. After a couple seconds' shuffling inside, the door was opened by a towering form, shoulders twice as broad as Kita's, and over a head taller. He was clad in robes of red, black flames stitched into the silky fabric. Hair traced across his chin and onto his upper lip, lending his sharply defined face a touch of hair. A scar ran down his right cheek, just below his piercing red eyes, which carried a permanently stoic gaze.

"Aka," Kita's father greeted. He bowed low, and the rest of his family followed suit. Alexandra looked to the man, then to Kita. She started with surprise, and bowed clumsily.

"You have brought an outsider. Why?" Aka questioned. "You know this is grounds for banishment."

"She has been brought in by Kita, who is visiting for a short time," Kita's mother explained. She turned to her daughter, who showed her broken mask. "Our daughter lost her mask in a fight for her life. We had hoped to receive a new one, and bless her transition to adulthood."

"...Very well," Aka agreed, in his usual gruff voice. "Outsider. We will be watching your every movement."

"Uh, g-got it!" Alexandra replied uneasily.

As the group began to follow Aka toward the back of the hut, Alexandra flinched with surprise. From each side of the door, a Shrouded Guard peeled themself from the wall, where they stood still as a statue, not warranting notice. One was clad in yellow, the other in blue. They said nothing, and Alexandra's mind began to race, pondering what sat behind their masks.

The hut began to darken as the group walked to the back, where a woman sat eerily still in front of a fire that sent dancing orange lights and dark shadows across a tapestry of a white fox. Above the Shaman's head hung several small wooden planks, bushels of what looked like grain, and preserved animal parts; all grouped together on their own drooping string. Like the guards, the Shaman wore her Shrouded Fox mask.

"Kita," an elderly woman's voice called from behind the painted face of a fox. "I was told you would return. And, I was told your mask had broken."

"Wow, she's good..." Alexandra noted aside, gaining the gaze of the two Shrouded Guards. Through their masks, she could feel the looks of disapproval. She decided it was best to stay quiet.

"Yes. I lost my mask in a fight for my life," Kita confirmed. "I had hoped to visit not only to see my family, but to ensure the Great Shrouded Fox still watches over me. These have been my final moons before becoming an adult, and yet I have strayed far from the traditional path of the Shrouded Fox."

The Shaman sat eerily still for an uncomfortable amount of time, her increasingly audible breaths the only hint Alexandra had to be sure she was human. "...You have strayed far, this is true. But your path is still that of the Shrouded Fox," a voice said from inside the mask. This time, a different voice. Younger sounding, more powerful and of a deeper tone. Alexandra noticed a slight twinge of distortion, as if the woman spoke from behind a wall, from inside an echoing room. "I see all you do, and I am pleased with you, my daughter."

Kita said nothing, and merely bowed.

"You have lost my mask, and many of your most trying battles lie ahead," the voice continued. "You must receive a new mask. With it, you receive my blessing."

With the final words, the Shaman jolted back to animation. She caught her breath for a brief moment, then stood wordlessly, and walked to the darkest corner of the hut, where a shelf made of dark wood held a single mask. Kita stepped forward from her family, and knelt in front of the fire.

"With this, we mark your full maturity," the Shaman declared. "Kurayami Kita, daughter of the Great Shrouded Fox. With this mask, you take on the spirit of our Goddess and ancestors. Do you accept this mask as your own?"

"I accept."

Kita closed her eyes as the mask covered her face, and the string tightened behind her head. As her eyes opened, the light of the fire danced across her mask, rendering it's usual white an eerie shade of orange.


	51. V4: In Custody

**Hello again! If you want some additional content, pictures of the characters, and some thoughts I write up at 3 in the morning, follow my tumblr at GreysonSkye! Fair warning, this** _**is**_ **a bit of a long recap episode, but I'm gonna try to have another out soon after.**

The handcuffs around Greyson's wrists were too tight. With every sudden yank from the mountain of muscle behind him, meant to direct him through the grey corridor to the interrogation room, he felt their cold steel digging into skin and bone. After what felt like half an hour of walking, Greyson was met by a heavy steel door, opened by another mountain of muscle to reveal a soulless room. Its grey walls and bare floors were decorated only by a table with a chair at each side, a two-way mirror, and a security camera; lit only by a single light that hung above the seats.

Greyson was forcefully ushered to the seat facing the mirror. He watched himself get shoved into the metal chair, arms chained behind it. His eyes shifted to a man who walked in the door holding a briefcase. Skinnier than the guards that ushered him in, no less intimidating.

His briefcase clunked on the table, and Greyson's eyes widened as it opened to reveal a syringe filled with a yellow liquid. His head and sweatshirt hood were forced downward to reveal his upper back, where the needle dug into his spine. Greyson gasped in pain, the liquid burning as it coursed through his veins. He felt weak.

"It's an aura and semblance suppressant," the man explained. "If the notes on you are correct, we shouldn't have to worry much about your semblance. Still, we can't be too sure." He turned around, but paused and looked back to Greyson, whose head slumped in his chair. "...Side effects include exhaustion and nausea, but are uncommon. Guess we'll get to you last."

Azure sat upright in her chair, cobalt eyes squinting at the mirror in an attempt to discern if she was being watched by more than the woman who had just opened the door, who wore a grey suit that matched her hair. As Azure got a closer look, she saw no wrinkles on the woman's skin, and decided her hair was not grey by age, but by nature. No more than a decade older than herself, Azure determined.

"My name is Shale Slate, I'm the prosecutor assigned by Mistral to oversee your case," the woman introduced. "The Garnett family was fighting for a private lawyer, but in light of recent events, their requests were denied." Prosecutor Slate leaned in, gaze piercing Azure. "Now. What can you tell me about the Garnett family?"

"They're monsters," Azure stated matter-of-factly. "Do you remember the case last December, with the allegations of faunus sacrifice? It was all true. They're trying to make me give birth to some- _devil child_ , by drinking awakened faunus blood. That mansion burned down so they could destroy the evidence."

"The case is fresh in my memory. Half our detective team is _still_ delegated to piecing that whole mess together," Shale admitted. "But what can you offer as evidence, other than your own testimony? We've scoured the area almost a dozen times, the best technology, dogs, everything. Nothing has shown up out of the ordinary." The prosecutor's voice took on an even more stern tone. "If you want to claim that the CEO of a company worth hundreds of millions of lien has ties to occult sacrifice, you need to have proof."

Azure thought hard for several seconds, becoming increasingly frustrated as nothing came to mind. "I guess, well... I have nothing," she admitted. "But all these allegations of Greyson abducting me? They're wrong! You can ask anyone, check my old texts from back at Beacon, social media, anything! I'm in love with him! I disappeared after the fall of Beacon, because I knew if I didn't I'd be arranged to marry Vladimir!"

Ember sat in the interrogation chair, waiting for what felt like hours for the interrogator to come. The steel chair was decidedly uncomfortable, and the light from above was unpleasantly bright, the slightest sickly green hue.

Ember heard the heavy door at the far side of the room open, and the prosecutor entered. She left her briefcase at the table's leg, and laid a stack of folders to her right. Without a word, she looked over the one on top.

"Right... Ember Blackburn," Prosecutor Slate addressed. She squinted, eyes as grey as the room around her. "My file says you were a student at Signal for four years, before coming to Beacon Academy. Is this correct?"

"Yeah," Ember blankly replied.

"Coincidentally, these years fall in line with the Burgundy Bandit's prominence in Patch, then her reappearance in Vale," Shale asserted. "The Burgundy Bandit was last seen during the Fall of Beacon, primarily uses daggers, and is said to be a young woman. Quite the coincidence, wouldn't you agree?"

Ember cracked a knuckle behind her back, yet masked her mounting anxiety. "What is it you're prosecuting? What are our charges?" she questioned.

"Aggravated murder, multiple counts of arson, and evading authorities," the woman in grey listed.

"So, even if you were to have more than circumstantial evidence, that's not what this case is about, is it? Even if what you're saying _was_ true, it's irrelevant," Ember acutely returned.

Prosecutor Slate sighed, pulling back a bit and adjusting her files. "They _did_ warn me you'd be a difficult one," she noted. "Now. What can you tell me about the Garnett family?"

Ember proved to know no more than the rest of her friends, and had no more evidence for the misdeeds of the Garnett family. Prosecutor Slate decided, at least for the next suspect, to look into Twilight Crusade itself. Of course, they were still the primary suspects. Yet some details did not quite add up. Twilight Crusade was seen taking down the flag at the first village, not putting it up. The medical examiner found wounds on the victims' bodies indicative of a lance, rapier, and dust. Twilight Crusade had a dust wielder, and a rather skilled one at that. But none of their other weapons could consistently replicate the wounds found.

"Pierce Verdi, is it?" Prosecutor Slate began. "Verdi's not a common name. The only other Verdi I've heard about is Don Verdi." She cocked her head. "Have you heard of him?"

"Yeah," Pierce began. "Everyone assumed we were related. Things were hard enough, being a faunus. Then I had that shit to deal with."

"My condolences," Shale replied unconvincingly. "More importantly, I want to talk about your time in Northern Mistral. So few have gone into Akuno forest and made it out alive, it seems like a miracle none of your group succumbed to the elements. How did you pull this off?"

"Barely," Pierce admitted. "That dust wielder you mentioned before helped us make fire, even though her crown was stolen. We had a survival expert with us too, she's from that frigid hell."

"Akuno forest is known to be swarming with grimm. Some of which are found nowhere else," the prosecutor continued. "Grimm are attracted to negative emotion. One would think that being framed for such a gruesome crime would foster some kind of negative sentiment in your group."

"It did. You forget the fact we're huntsmen? It's our job to kill grimm."

Shale sighed in irritation. "Another difficult one," she noted to herself. "Fine. Tell me about these grimm encounters. In detail."

Pierce recounted the encounters with typical grimm, about the beowolf packs that met them near hourly, and a spare few ursa along their path. He paused, considering how best to describe the main grimm that had haunted Twilight Crusade during their time in the Yamakori foothhills.

"There was one other grimm. Definitely the biggest pain in our ass," he began. "We'd never even heard of the thing, let alone seen it. It could change shape, from something that looked like a human torso with blades for arms, to whatever our biggest fear was."

"Interesting," Shale replied, entering her notes into her scroll with a stylus. "Tell me more about this creature of grimm. What did your friends see?"

"It turned into a snake for an old teammate of mine from Beacon," Pierce recalled. "Turned into Vladimir Garnett for one girl, and some insect-monster for one of us."

"So it changed shapes at will," Shale repeated. "What did you see?"

Pierce froze.

"I... I'd rather not say."

"Tell me what it is. I need to know _everything_ about this case," the prosecutor insisted. "A person's biggest fear is quite telling of their character. And, if you withhold this information, it leads me to believe you have something to hide."

"It turned into a cat," Pierce claimed, thinking back to the feline creature summoned by the grimm's tendrils of black flame. "My dad owned a cat when I was a kid, it damn near bit my ear off one night. Haven't liked cats since."

After several more minutes at the table with Pierce, Prosecutor Slate organized her files on the desk, picked up her briefcase, and walked to the door. Upon opening it, she was met by one of several guards, a man who stood a head taller than her, weighing at least three hundred pounds; most of it muscle.

"Prosecutor Slate," the man addressed.

"What is it?" Shale asked.

"I'd be careful dealing with this next one," the security guard warned.

Prosecutor Slate opened the next file, to reveal a paper with a picture of Raven at its upper left side. Next to the picture was biological information, her semblance, and a couple different sections of relevant information.

"Raven Mallori Corvis. Height four feet eleven inches, weight ninety-one pounds," she read. She turned to the guard, look of suspicion flashing across her face. "Thanks, but I think I can take care of myself."

"You saw the crime scene pictures, didn't you?" the muscular man cut in, just before Shale got her hand on the doorknob. "Of Lucius Garnett, CEO of Garnett Jewelers?"

Shale shivered, the gruesome images flooding back into her mind. "...Unfortunately," she replied.

"This girl was the one who did that. I'm going in with you, this one's a killer."

The only noises audible above the buzzing of the light above the room were Prosecutor Slate's heels tapping on the concrete ground, and a metallic pinging, the sound of a chain quivering on metal. Ms. Slate sat on the chair opposite Raven, once again looking over her files. She paused, gaze shifting up to the girl. Her head hung low, eyes cast to the floor as she gasped for breath.

"What's that noise?" Shale questioned. "You hear it too, don't you?"

"I-I'm s-sorry," Raven whimpered. She looked up "I... I r-really don't l-like handcuffs. A-After being at the G-Garnett's, I-I really don't like them."

Shale squinted, analyzing the girl. Her pale face was splotched with red, the bags under her glazed eyes near purple. She quivered, as if holding back more tears. Her eyes looked sincere and full of guilt and fear; far from the eyes of a cold-blooded murderer.

"Undo her handcuffs," the prosecutor decided.

"No way," the security guard argued. "This girl is sadistic and sick. She's trying to manipulate you!"

"Her semblance and aura are both suppressed, and she's unarmed. Are you saying you wouldn't be able to handle someone her size if she got out of line?" Shale retorted.

Reluctantly, the bodyguard grabbed both of Raven's hands on one of his, then used his other hand to unlock her cuffs, freeing her hands from behind the table. In a slow, measured movement, she placed them on the table, folding them in front of her.

"Now what can you tell me?" Shale questioned, her previously gentle demeanor disappearing. "In specific, I want to know about the death of one Lucius Garnett."

Raven's heart skipped a beat, and made up for it by pounding. "I... M-My semblance. I'm an awakened faunus, i-if you know what that is," Raven explained, voice shaking and barely above a whisper. "I-I lost control over it. I n-never wanted to kill him!"

"So you confess," Shale replied, edge of confidence inducing further anxiety in Raven. "You say you didn't want to kill Mr. Garnett, yet your group is responsible for the deaths of three entire villages. Why should I believe you have remorse for your actions?"

"W-We didn't kill anyone else!" Raven exclaimed. "Th-They framed us. W-We caught M-Mr. Garnett, at the village j-just after he killed them. Th-Then we fought."

"So you maintain your innocence on all other counts?"

Raven nodded.

After two more interrogations, Shale had only a couple folders left. One to be saved for the end, the leader of Twilight Crusade. The other was the prime suspect in dozens of the murders, Twilight Crusade's dust wielder.

Alexandra slouched on the interrogation chair, manipulating the concrete behind her to rise from the floor out of boredom. Upon Shale Slate's entry, she flattened it back down, and corrected her posture.

"I'm not answering any questions until you tell me how Kita's doing," she blurted, before Shale had a chance to read off the first of her prepared questions.

" _I_ am the one interrogating _you_ ," Shale reminded. She looked over her notes. "Now. You're a dust wielder, correct? Most proficient with earth, fire, and ice dust. Interesting, considering those were the types of dust used in the murders."

"Yeah, crazy, huh?" Alexandra responded apathetically. She remained silent, looking to the prosecutor.

"Do you understand the severity of these allegations?" Shale questioned, voice wracked with irritation. "If found guilty, your _entire_ group will be put away for life, if not given the death penalty. Now do you plan to answer what I ask you?"

"Only if you tell me how Kita's doing," Alexandra replied.

"She's fine. She's recovering, but was determined unfit for interrogation due to health concerns. Last I heard she had received a blood transfusion at Frontline General Hospital."

"Is that a good hospital?" Alexandra continued to inquire.

"It's new, but a state of the art facility with well-trained staff," Shale assured. She punched the table in aggravation. "Now answer me!"

"I'm of the Inyan people, a nomadic tribe from the deserts of Vacuo," Alexandra began. "Ten years ago, Mrs. Garnett killed everyone I ever knew, in an attempt at Crown Jewel, my tiara. It amplifies dust-wielding capabilities, and was stolen from me at the time of the murders by Mrs. Garnett. That should explain why the markings on stone and ice were the same as the ones at the scene of the Harvest Festival incident in October. I was barely able to dust wield without it, you can ask anyone about how useless I was. Then, in my fight with her, Pierce and Kita helped me get it back." Alexandra sat back in her chair, looking the prosecutor in the eyes. "Does that answer your question?"

"It... yes, it does," Prosecutor Slate answered, scrolling down her question list. "Thanks for your cooperation."

Shale left the room, and pulled the file of Twilight Crusade's last member. Greyson Skye, leader of Twilight Crusade, wanted for the kidnapping of Azure Ozeen, on top of the other charges. If his story lined up at all with Azure's Shale thought, the kidnapping charge would be difficult to pin on him.

"So, didn't take well to the injection?" the prosecutor remarked as she strolled into the room. Greyson's head still hung low, dark circles under his eyes accented by shadow. He looked up. Shale noticed slight differences between Greyson's Beacon Academy picture and the man who sat before her. He was obviously heavier than before, easily having added fifteen pounds of muscle, perhaps twenty. His jawline had strengthened, and during the weeks up North, grew out black stubble.

"As the leader of Twilight Crusade, you would have been the one planning these attacks. But, why would you do it? What was your motive?" Shale questioned.

Greyson sat silent for several seconds, and shook his head slowly. "There isn't a motive, because it wasn't us. We were framed," he insisted. "We didn't kill _anyone_ up North, apart from Mr. Garnett."

"Even if you didn't commit the murders, that isn't entirely the truth," Ms. Slate argued. "The Mistral military reported three men dead after the avalanche triggered during your battle with them. This is grounds for a manslaughter charge, and we have video evidence of your group evading authorities."

"We... we would have helped them, if we could," Greyson murmured. "That avalanche was triggered by Mistral's guns. We only evaded capture because they had no intent of taking us alive. We don't want to die for a crime we didn't commit."

"If you were framed like you say, how do you suppose a family of three took down a warrior village alone, whose population totalled four hundred and sixty on last census?"

"How do you suppose a group of eight Beacon dropouts, along with an exile and an orphan, were able to take down that village?" Greyson questioned as a reply. "We were able to fight Lucius Garnett on our own, but the other two are different. They're both strong enough to take all of us at once, especially if Midna has Crown Jewel."

"We spoke earlier of a motive," Shale reminded. "What would theirs be?"

"They want souls. The souls of the people they kill make them stronger," Greyson stated. "They want power, for the same reason they sacrifice faunus, trying to give rise to the Brother of Destruction. To kill anyone who gets in their way of dominating Mistral, maybe even the whole of Remnant."

"I shouldn't believe _anything_ you say," Shale replied begrudgingly. "But still, _every single one_ of your stories line up, with each other and with official reports." She stood. "We'll release you for now, but only tentatively and under strict surveillance. Sneeze on the wrong person and we'll be there with a box of tissues and a pair of handcuffs."

"You're dropping the charges?" Greyson incredulously asked.

"Nice try," Shale countered. "We're releasing you until trial, we're looking at early March for a date." She pulled a grey card from her pocket, the silver letters spelling her name and numbers providing a phone number shone in the light. "Here's my card. Call me if anything happens with the Garnett family or otherwise. And if this number calls you, you'd better answer."


	52. V4: Low Profile

All of Twilight Crusade was tentatively let free, though strictly monitored. It was lucky, Greyson thought, that monitoring equipment had advanced as far is it did. The former bulky black anklets had been replaced by a silver wristband that could pass for a bracelet, and a drone for each member, no larger nor noisier than a fly. The group was instructed to keep a low profile, and do little to garner public attention.

Everyone, bar Greyson and Azure who had gone to a far more extravagant event put on by Azure's parents, crammed into a minivan, loaned by Rusty's mother to him for the day. They decided on a trip into Hajimaru's shopping center. The group all began at the Skye Cafe, but afterward split. Alexandra took Kita several blocks South, to a traditional Mistral restaurant the internet seemed to love.

The rest of the group walked around the city, shopping for clothes, stopping for snacks, several of the hobby stores the city had to offer, and a peek into a curiosity shop. Raven noted a large number of signs for missing faunus as they strolled along. One young mother never showed up to pick her daughter up from a friend's house. Another man was last seen on a Friday night, leaving the bar he had gone to with friends. A third missing poster showed the face of a huntsman with stag antlers, who disappeared from a routine grimm contract. Besides the troubling posters, the outing was pleasant, if not a bit mundane.

"So, what do you guys think of Greyson's beard?" Rusty asked nonchalantly, strolling to a street corner with friends behind him.

"It's more stubble than anything," Ember argued. "Why are you even bringing this up?"

"Y'know, just making conversation," Rusty explained innocently. The walk signal flashed up on the opposite corner, and the group moved. "I think it looks pretty cool."

"I-I think I remember Azure saying she doesn't like facial hair much," Raven commented. "I d-don't think it's gonna stay long."

"Aww, man," Dustyn groaned. "We could've been beard brothers."

"Yours is a goatee," Ember countered.

"Are you like, the beard police today or something?" Rusty retorted. "You've been coming at us all afternoo-"

"Wait," Pierce interrupted. He squinted with intense focus across the street, where a rugged looking man with black hair and a long goatee walked a crooked limp opposite the group.

"Is _that_ a beard?" Rusty muttered.

"Get inside," Pierce suddenly commanded.

With more confusion than hesitation, the group shuffled into the nearest store, a brightly lit arts and crafts shop that smelled of the flowers hung by the entrance. Inside, an elderly woman with a puff of white hair and glasses, wearing a light pink shirt, khaki pants, and a white apron stood behind the only counter in operation.

"Welcome in!" the woman greeted with a warm smile. "What brings you in today?"

"...Birdhouses," Pierce blurted. "Where could we find birdhouses?"

"Those will be down in aisle three, toward the back of the store," the woman instructed. "It warms my heart to see kids these days are still into crafts," she commented as they walked by.

"So, mind explaining what in the heck that was back there?" Ezelia questioned.

"Yeah, could have come up with something a little cheaper than birdhouses," Pierce agreed, looking over the price tag to a building kit.

"You know what we mean," Dustyn goaded.

"Someone I knew a while ago," Pierce carefully explained. "Probably came to cash in on Mistral's black market. We were told to keep a low profile, so I'm staying out of any possible trouble."

"There could have been trouble with that guy?" Ezelia asked. "What even did you used to do? We know you knew Ember, and, well... what Ember did. But who even _are_ you?"

"I prefer not to think about it," Pierce asserted. "What you know about Ember and I is all you need to know."

Alexandra led Kita to the restaurant's door, taking a second to peek at the hours before opening it. The walls of the restaurant were smooth and black until halfway up, where they became made of dark wood planks. Brass hanging lights and candles were all that lit the sleek interior, with nearly every shiny black table filled by customers and their plates of food. To the immediate right of the door was the bar area, and to the left was a counter. Beyond it were the tables for families.

"Table for two, please," Alexandra asked of the host.

"We are on a date!" Kita proudly exclaimed.

"Oh, uh- congrats," the host offered. "The wait will be about fifteen minutes, is that alright?"

"Yeah, shorter than I was expecting, actually!" Alexandra replied. "Put it under Alexandra." She took a few steps back, and sat next to Kita on the wooden waiting bench. She shivered. "I knew I should have listened to Azure, she said it's not sundress season for like three more months. I just thought I looked cute in this," she complained, looking down to the black sundress with purple floral accents she had picked out for the day.

"Please, do not make yourself uncomfortable to impress me," Kita responded. She smiled lightly. "I already think you are cute."

Alexandra's eyes went wide, and she grinned. "...I think my heart just exploded a little," she stated with a nervous laugh.

A little less than an hour later, Kita and Alexandra sat opposite each other, just heaping plates of food and a candle between them. Alexandra flumbled around with chopsticks, attempting to wrangle a bite from her noodle dish. Every attempt, her food slid rebelliously back down to her dish.

"Wh- how? How do you use these things?" Alexandra complained. She started suddenly as she nearly dropped one of the chopsticks onto the floor. After catching it with a closed fist, she looked to the sauce smeared across her hand in disappointment, then wiped it on her napkin. "Maybe I should admit defeat and get a fork..." she mumbled.

"Let me see your hand," Kita offered, after finishing off a sip of water. "I will show you how to do it."

Alexandra held her arm across the table, chopsticks held at her best guess of their proper position. Kita lightly took her one hand in both of hers. "The bottom one does not move. It goes next to your thumb, and your ring finger may support it," she instructed, guiding Alexandra's fingers around the utensil. "You hold the top one as you would a pencil."

Alexandra pulled her hand back slowly, practicing the pinching movement. " _Oh my god, she touched my hand. She touched my hand. Okay, calm down. Calm down,_ " she thought.

"Try my food first, it should be easier to grab," Kita offered, indicating her plate of chopped chicken on rice.

Alexandra complied. Grabbing the food was easy enough, but between its weight and Alexandra's nerves, she dropped it onto her hand, which she held below. Embarrassed, she plopped it onto her plate and wiped her hand again. "I'm a mess today, I'm sorry and I'm so embarrassed! Like, why do you even like me? Actually I meant that as a joke but I'm serious now!"

Kita cocked her head curiously. "Why do I like you?" she repeated. "There are many reasons. Before I knew a woman could have feelings for another, I simply thought it was admiration for a friend. I admired your strength, and very much enjoyed your company. Our personalities are quite different, but I believe they work well together." She paused, glancing to her plate then back to Alexandra, who had successfully used her chopsticks to lift the chicken from Kita's plate to her mouth.

"Then, I began to realize how beautiful you were," Kita continued. "It started with your eyes, yet I began to realize all of you was beautiful. I would find myself looking your way, and going out of my way to spend time with you above anyone."

Alexandra's face had flushed red, eyes wide and holding back tears. She chewed, and swallowed painfully before gasping for breath.

"Alexandra? What is wrong?" Kita asked, voice wracked with worry.

"You, uh-" Alexandra cleared her throat, then breathed. She took a sip of water. "You like your food a little spicy, huh?"

After twenty more minutes, Kita and Alexandra had both finished off their dinners. Alexandra left Kita to hers, not interested in swallowing any more of what felt like hot coal. They sat, having idle chat about the interrogations and how glad they were to be let free, among other things. After a lull in conversation, during which the waiter came back with the check, Alexandra looked up at her date.

"Hey, you're, uhh... a little hard to read sometimes," she commented. "Did you have an okay time today?"

"Okay?" Kita reflected. "I have had a wonderful time with you, and I am sad our date is ending soon. I would like very much to do this again."

"I was just about to ask!" Alexandra exclaimed. "But, this date doesn't have to be over quite yet. I know you like some ice cream every now and then, on special occasions though, because it's unhealthy."

"Yes. And I would call this a special occasion," Kita agreed. "But I do not wish to make you spend too much on me."

"Technically I wasn't supposed to tell you this," Alexandra said, pulling several hundred-lien notes out of her wallet with a sly grin. "But Azure loaned me a little money, now that she's getting money from her parents again. We could buy out the whole damn store if we want!"

"If that is the case, then let us go," Kita decided.

The two walked out of the restaurant, after Alexandra left a sizeable tip on the bill. She braced for the cold with Kita next to her, feeling the chilly breeze through her hair and the two began their journey to the ice cream parlor.

Alexandra glanced down at Kita's hand, and felt a pulse of adrenaline. Under the guise of the gesture being accidental, she touched the side of her index finger to Kita's pinky finger, then pulled back as she stepped forward. A few steps along, she enacted phase two of her plan. Her index and middle fingers met Kita's ring and pinky fingers, and gently grasped them. Kita looked at her date in surprise, but before Alexandra could pull away, she smiled and interlocked the rest of her fingers with Alexandra's.

The two walked hand in hand the rest of the way to ice cream.


	53. V4: High Profile

Greyson sat next to Azure in a method of transportation he never knew anyone actually used; a horse-drawn carriage. It was better left in the past, Greyson thought. The seats were uncomfortable and the horses far slower than an airship, even a car. Still, he could not help but admire the nobility of it. Its golden edges and accents on a sleek white exterior truly seemed like something out of a fairy tale.

The two were headed a short ride northeast of Mistral, to a mansion owned by a relative of Azure's, overseer of Mistral's branch of the Schnee Dust Company. Her parents decided to meet there, as though their daughter was let free, international travel was still forbidden by the Mistral Police Department and Military.

As the carriage broke from the treeline and into a regal courtyard full of marble statues and sculpted hedges, Greyson got his first look at the mansion. It was white and of staggering size, about three stories tall save for its towers and front doorway. The entry was under a massive arch, held in place by a pair of marble pillars. Though smaller, the arch and pillar design continued along the front of the house to each corner, at which conically-roofed towers stood.

"You said this is the _third_ largest of the Schnee mansions?" Greyson inquired quietly, leaning into Azure and looking up at the building.

"Yup," Azure nonchalantly replied. "Not quite the size of the one I grew up in, but still quite a bit bigger than our Vacuo branch."

The cart pulled into the carriage loop at the building's front. It was made of marble, like everything else. Mostly black, but with a white Schnee Dust symbol spanning the radius of the loop. Greyson was ushered out one side by a man in a blue longcoat, who gave Greyson's grey sweatshirt, black jeans, and rubber-tipped shoes a look of displeasure. Azure was escorted out the other door.

"Azure!" A woman's voice called. Her mother hastened up to her, and, seeing her for the first time since the Vytal festival, hugged her daughter. Mr. Ozeen followed suit. Greyson stood behind them, admiring the marble ground and wondering how much interaction was appropriate.

"And I see you've brought Greyson as well," Mr. Ozeen noted. Greyson perked up and looked at him, feigning confidence. He met his handshake.

"It's good to see you again," Greyson greeted politely.

"Yes, last we saw you you lied to us. You told us our daughter was dead," Azure's mother cut in.

Greyson decided not to reply.

"Now, now, let's be civil," Mr. Ozeen cut in. He turned to Azure. "Vladimir couldn't make it today. He told us he was still mourning his father. I'm sure it's hard to accept the situation with his mother as well."

"It's... probably better he doesn't come," Azure replied. "You've heard of everything going on, haven't you? What do you think of everything?"

"I still think Greyson is a liar and a criminal," Mrs. Ozeen accused. "You've been misled, honey. We're glad to have you back, and I'm sure Vladimir will be too, despite the tragedies he has been going through."

Azure scowled.

"I..." Mr. Ozeen sighed. "Come on. We don't want to make everyone wait."

Greyson got a peek of the interior as he was led inside. A marble staircase to the right, and a massive painting of the Schnee Dust founder covering the left wall. Lighting the room was a single hanging chandelier, made of solid gold and larger than an ursa. A banquet hall was partially visible through the door opposite the entry.

Nearly an hour later, Greyson could hear the hall downstairs abuzz with excited chatter. After he was fitted for a black and silver suit made of fine, silky wool, his hair was combed, and slicked back neater than he had ever seen it.

From the door to her dressing room, Azure appeared. She wore an elegant dress that looked as if it weighed more than its wearer. It was mostly a light blue, but with lace and accents of black. Its sleeves draped down on her shoulder, and widened toward her wrists. Below Azure's waist, the dress flared out in ruffled layers to be nearly as wide as she was tall.

"So, how do I look?" she inquired, giving a quick turnaround.

"Like a goddess," Greyson answered. With a look of disdain, he clumsily adjusted his belt. "Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out what kind of sadist made these pants for men. There is _not_ enough room for everything."

"It's okay sweetheart, it'll only be for a little bit," Azure comforted.

"God, I can't wait for this to be over," Greyson griped. "I'll finally be able to take these off." He cracked a sly grin. "They're a bit tight though. Think you could help?"

Azure's reaction, a pained cringe, was far from what Greyson had planned. Slowly, she pointed behind him.

"Oh! Mr- Mr. Ozeen," Greyson addressed, stricken with the painful awkwardness of it all. "How long have you been here?"

"My apologies for the ill-fitting pants," he sternly replied. "If there is a next time, we will give you another pair." He turned on his heel. "Come with me."

"I meant to ask earlier," Azure began as she exited the room with Greyson and her father. "But can I see the speech you prepared? It's a little late but I can at least see if everything's okay."

"The, uh... the what?" Greyson asked.

"I told you you would be giving a speech!" Azure reprimanded in a hushed whisper. She sighed. "I _knew_ I should have asked Raven to write you one. Whatever. You're improvising now because _someone_ didn't listen to me!"

Greyson had no time to marvel at the baroque interior of the banquet hall, nor did he have time to pay mind to the glares and upturned noses pointed his way. He painstakingly mulled over words to pull together.

Before even half a speech had formed, Azure's re-introduction to the family had ended, and Greyson was called to the stage. His knees shook as he looked out to the crowd in front of him. At least a hundred guests, yet it looked like so many more. His hands quivered and sweated. At last, he took a deep breath.

"H-Hello, everyone. I, uh... I'm Greyson and I didn't abduct your daughter!" Greyson quavered. "I... I mean, not everyone's daughter. Umm, I didn't... didn't abduct Azure."

Azure's head in her hands told Greyson exactly how well his speech was going.

Greyson closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He looked to the buffet bar in the back of the room, instead of the men and women before him. "I know those of you in the audience have... _varying_ opinions of me. That much is putting it lightly," he continued, with renewed confidence. "Though I maintain my innocence, and condemn the Garnett family, the tragedies of Northern Mistral are not what we came to discuss today."

Azure's head peeked up. Greyson looked to the crowd in front of him.

"Your opinions of me are not unwarranted," he admitted. "I stole your family member. Your daughter, your cousin, your friend. My actions led you to believe she was dead, and for that grief, I'm sorry. However, Azure and I share a bond stronger than one could ever hope to know. Though you may not hold me in high regard right now, I hope with time your opinion will change. Until one day, I can sit among you, as a member of the Schnee family."

Greyson bowed slightly, and someone in the audience clapped. Then another. Azure followed, her enthusiastic applause stirring the audience to a crescendo.

Greyson walked off stage, and was met by Azure and her father as her mother stepped up to speak on Azure's behalf. Azure embraced him, then pulled back.

"What in the _world_ was that, Greyson?" she questioned.

"You're talking about the beginning, right?" Greyson returned.

"No. Let's just go ahead and forget that happened," Azure replied acutely. "You sounded like a politician, or like Ozpin or something!"

Mr. Ozeen let out a deep breath, clapping Greyson's shoulder with his long, thin hands. "You're sincere, I know that much. A little rough around the edges, but I can tell Azure has her reasons for being with you."

Greyson turned around with a grateful smile, but before he could reply, he felt a vibration in his pocket. He took out his scroll, pausing as he saw the face and number flash onto his screen.

Shale Slate.

Greyson excused himself, slipping behind the crowd and out a door as he raised his scroll to his ear. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hello. Greyson, I presume? I've only heard your voice once, my apologies," Prosecutor Slate replied.

"Yeah, this is him," Greyson confirmed.

"It is of utmost importance your group comes to the Mistral Public Courthouse at 7:00 pm tomorrow, for an emergency press conference," Shale demanded. "Midna Garnett has confessed on all charges."


	54. V4: Contempt of Court

Mistral's main courthouse was larger than Greyson imagined. From the windowed loft at the back of the court, up a story and a half, Twilight Crusade could see everything. The far wall was obscured by a red curtain, blocked at even intervals by white marble columns. Directly in front of the wall was the judge's massive desk, with the jurors' bench to the side. At one of three dark wooden tables in front of the desk, Shale Slate sat, reading over her files.

The grand doors at left opened, and a dozen or so photographers entered the room, and began to set up their equipment. A few looked to the bulletproof glass at the furthest end of the room, where Greyson and company sat surrounded by two guards at each side. Following the media were civilians. Much like the cameramen they followed in, some noticed Twilight Crusade. They pointed and gave cautious glances to the group, whispering back and forth as they took their seats.

Finally, from the right came Midna Garnett. Her hands were shackled, the iron cuffs forming a sphere around both hands for maximum restraint. Her usual black dress was replaced by a jumpsuit, and she appeared disheveled, heavy bags under her eyes.

The pair of policemen at her sides ushered her to the chair at the table next to prosecutor Slate. Her head was held down at first, but she met Shale's gaze with a grin. A stony glare was all she got in return.

"The time is currently 7:05 p.m.," the Prosecutor reported. "At this time the doors will be locked, and this press conference will begin." She turned to Midna Garnett, ignoring the barrage of clicks and flashes from the media. "Everything you say will be recorded for use in trial, as well as public television and news broadcasts. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I want them to see," Midna responded.

"On Saturday, February ninth, you confessed to your part in the slaughter of three Northern Mistral villages. You also confessed to a conscious effort to pin these crimes on the huntsman group known as Twilight Crusade," Shale recounted. "Is this the truth?"

"Yes."

"You also implicated two others in these crimes. First was your late husband Lucius Garnett, and second is your son, Vladimir Garnett; responsible only for the attack on the first village. You claimed no other employees or relatives of the Garnett company had any part in the crimes. Is this correct?"

"Yes."

"She's being totally honest about everything!" Azure noted incredulously.

Greyson looked on, then turned to her. "Yeah. But still, something doesn't feel right. Why would she do this, when she orchestrated _everything_ to pin the crimes on us?"

"Might be plan B," Ember surmised. "Keyword to that is 'plan.' I don't think we're off the hook."

"I-I remember what Mr Garnett said," Raven replied. "H-He revealed their entire family's semblances, b-but he was bragging. He said he had no intention of l-letting us leave alive."

Shale looked Midna dead in the eyes, suppressing a shiver as the woman grinned widely. "What was your motive for these murders? And what convinced you to confess, after so meticulously framing Twilight Crusade?" she questioned.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you!" Mrs. Garnett teased.

"The courtroom is no place for jokes. Do you understand the severity of these allegations?" Shale insisted.

"The Garnett family shares variations of a semblance. The ones we kill make us stronger. We were harvesting, really," Mrs. Garnett explained. "The Garnett family has plans for the kingdom of Mistral. Plans we don't want anyone getting in the way of. To realize these plans, we wished to become stronger."

"But, why pin the crimes on Twilight Crusade, an otherwise unrelated and innocent group of huntsmen?" Shale continued.

"Convenience. They were already connected to us," Midna stated. "Azure Ozeen, a notable member, has been arranged to marry my son for years, yet she ran off with Twilight Crusade's leader. Besides, Twilight Crusade has opposed us in the past. To realize our goals, kill our enemies, and bring Azure back in. That's three birds with one stone. It was a lucky coincidence they took a trip to Northern Mistral right when the crimes happened to be taking place."

"Hey, it kinda seems like we're gonna be let off after this," Alexandra commented. "I mean, they're already letting us keep our weapons right now. That's a step up."

"There's still one question you've left unanswered," Shale insisted. "You put effort into hiding your misdeeds, and implicating Twilight Crusade. Evidence even points to a bribe provided to the Mistral military to continue the case. So why change your story now?"

Mrs. Garnett cracked a smile.

"I told you before, prosecutor," she said. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you!"

A deafening explosion rocked the far right corner of the courtroom, sending shrapnel and rubble deep into the audience. The entire room filled with a mixture of smoke and stone dust as the lights flickered. A chaotic uproar of horrified screams filled the court, and the audience scattered, trampling and shoving each other to crowd the door below Twilight Crusade's room and to their right; which was locked from both sides.

Greyson looked through the smoke to try and locate Midna Garnett. Through the settling haze, he could barely make out her form, still shackled and bound to her seat. More troublesome was the prosecutor next to her, collapsed in a pile of shattered stone.

Emerging from the smoke was Vladimir Garnett with an entourage of hooded cultists. Smoke danced from the barrel of Crimson Rook, and as he took notice of Twilight Crusade, he grinned and launched a second grenade. Raven sprung forward, deploying both her shield and ethereal wings. She blocked the brunt of the impact, but was flung viciously to the back wall as the glass separating Twilight Crusade from the chaos below shattered. Fire leapt into the room, catching on carpets, seats, and walls.

Alexandra shoved both palms outward, forming the dancing flames into a ball, which she launched toward the attackers. Without a glance at whether her attack hit, she blasted a hole through the door for the security guards to escape through, then raised a stone ramp down into the action.

"I-I'll go first!" Raven stated. Her wings fizzled out. "I-I'm sorry, but the risk of me losing control is t-too high with all the people here. I can't use my semblance."

As Twilight Crusade ran down the stone ramp, Vladimir launched more grenades. Alexandra sacrificed a handful of chunks from her ramp to sharpen and launch at the projectiles, which exploded upward on impact, shattering half the lights in the room and raining glass to the floor.

Before reaching the bottom of the ramp, Ezelia, last in line, stopped. "Back off if you wanna live!" she shouted. As the mass of civilians shuffled away from the door, she let loose a blast from Grimm Cat, which tore a gaping hole in the formerly ornate entryway.

At the bottom of Alexandra's ramp, Twilight Crusade split into three teams. Azure ran forward with Greyson, and Ezelia to Prosecutor Slate, who still lay motionless. Pierce grappled to the ceiling to vault over the crowd, then slashed through two hooded figures with ease. Ember, Raven, and Alexandra followed. Kita watched Rusty and Dustyn's backs as they carried and supported the injured journalists and civilians from the rows of seats to safety.

Azure knelt next to the prosecutor to assess her condition. A steady pulse in her neck let Azure know she was unconscious, but alive. A fresh spring of blood trailed from the left side of her head, across her forehead and pooled on the ground. A chunk of stone the size of a soccer ball lay nearby.

A swarm of cultists closed in on Azure's position. Ezelia smacked a pair backward with the blunt edge of Grimm Cat, before Greyson stepped in to knock one to the floor with the handle of Blitz. Taking a split second to ensure no civilians were in the way, he lined up a shot into the crowd of robes, and let loose a blast of lightning dust from Nimbus, stunning a half dozen in one attack.

He turned on his heel to block another dagger, then swiped with Blitz, Nimbus, and Blitz again, pushing his foe away from Azure and the injured woman. Ezelia jumped in to land a crushing blow, then turned her weapon to cleave outward at another member of the Church of Awakening.

Alexandra instantly took to quarantining Midna Garnett, encasing her in a stone prison. With her shield, Raven was the only one capable of fighting Vladimir head-on. Pierce used his semblance to duck and weave through lance strikes and shield bashes, yet the two hardly seemed to faze their enemy. Raven blocked one thrust to the side, but was knocked off balance by Vladimir's shield. Before he could land a vicious lance thrust, Vladimir was distracted by a spray of bullets from Pierce's Spade. He turned, striking through air as Pierce vanished, struck down Vladimir's back, and stepped away to help Raven up. His focus turned to Alexandra, who took a break from securing her nemesis to launch a torrent of fire at Vladimir. He raised his shield to the attack, grimacing and trudging forward against the searing heat to close in on the dust wielder. Before he could get close, Alexandra launched him back with an explosion of earth at his feet, and retreated.

Prosecutor Slate had regained consciousness partway through Azure bandaging up her head. As Greyson and the others formed a protective circle of steel and gunfire around the prosecutor, Azure asked questions to get a sense for how she fared.

"On a scale of one to ten, with one being no pain at all, and ten being unbearable pain, how does your head feel?" Azure inquired.

"I would say it's a six, maybe seven," Shale reported.

"Six or seven," Azure repeated. "What was the last thing you remem-"

"Watch out!" Shale warned. With a flash of light, a hooded figure appeared to Azure's side, planting a powerful kick across the huntress's cheek and causing her to tumble painfully across the marble floor. The hooded figure leapt onto the prosecutor, forcing her head to the ground and ripping something metallic from her belt before vanishing with another flash of light.

"Prosecutor!" Azure called.

"Damn it! He took the keys!" Shale shouted, patting at her waist fruitlessly. She halted suddenly, clutching her head.

"What do they unlock?" Azure asked in reply.

"Mrs. Garnett's handcuffs."

The temperature in the room dropped instantly. With a second explosion, shards of stone once again flew to the ceiling, tearing through civilians and cultists alike without discrimination.

"No!" Alexandra screamed. "I've let you live once. But here's where you _die!_ "

She ripped her hand downward, spawning a colossal stalactite from the stone ceiling and crashing it down. Mrs. Garnett split the attack down its middle, and launched the thousand-pound stones deep into the audience.

Alexandra grit her teeth, holding both hands out to disperse the stones into finely-grained sand before they could crush the screaming masses. She shouted with pain as she felt a sharp stab to her back; a skewer of ice from Mrs. Garnett just barely blocked by her aura.

"You don't speak much like a hero," Mrs. Garnett taunted. "You're threatening to kill me, and here I thought you learned your lesson up North! What did you say, that Crown Jewel shouldn't be used to kill?"

"Maybe I'm not a hero," Alexandra admitted. "But I'm sure as hell not the villain you are! Now come on, let's settle this once and for all!"

Greyson and Azure helped Prosecutor Slate to her feet, and began to usher her out as Kita kept watch over them. Shale was uneasy on her feet, and seemingly disoriented as she walked, pressing into Greyson at first, then nearly falling into Azure. Near the door, her scroll began to ring.

"Yes, what is it?" Shale answered. Her face turned from confusion to sober disquiet. She looked up to Greyson.

"The premises are surrounded."

 **Author's note! I'm sorry if this chapter was late, and a little disorganized. I had intense writer's block for a while, then I decided to rework this entire arc, then it turned out that what I had planned in my outline was only ~800 words. Then I got writer's block again, then I decided to rework a few minor details, so... yeah.**


	55. V4: Empty Clip

"The whole place is surrounded?" Greyson repeated.

"The Police Department is reporting the entire building is surrounded by hooded figures," Shale relayed.

Greyson pulled his scroll from his pocket. "Everyone! Pull back to my position!" he demanded to the group. "The building is surrounded! Priority is defending the citizens!"

Alexandra stared down Midna Garnett, a ring of flame surrounding the two. She glared at her foe, breathing labored with the persistent pain in her back, and the exertion of battle. Greyson's words broke through the scroll Azure bought her days earlier, a present to help her keep in touch with Kita.

"You heard him, your priority is protecting the public!" Mrs. Garnett taunted. "Now which will you choose? A personal vendetta, or a chance to play hero?"

"God, I wish there was a way to do both," Alexandra bitterly replied. She wrenched her arms past each other, enclosing Midna in a whirlwind of flame. As she ran toward Twilight Crusade, she formed a wall of stone behind her, a shield between her back and any underhanded attacks Midna may have planned. Alexandra thought she was last to rejoin the group, but Pierce and Raven trailed, a result of trouble breaking away from Vladimir.

"We need to get out there," Greyson declared after a quick headcount. "Our enemies are surrounding the property at about fifty meters, focused more densely on this side. Most of us will run forward to intercept them a safe distance away, so nobody gets caught in the crossfire. But, I'm going to lead Alexandra and Kita on a direct offensive on Vladimir and Midna Garnett around the South side of the building. Any questions?"

No hands rose.

"Move out!"

As Greyson's trio split from the group and ran around the side of the courthouse, Raven and Pierce led the charge past the huddled mass of terrified civilians, and toward the Church of Awakening. A horde closed in on Raven, who jumped into the air, and entered her awakened form upon hitting the ground. The hooded figures were thrown backward on a burst of foggy wind, and Raven charged forward to intercept one with her blade, flinging him to the ground. She turned her head as another jumped in, and he was flung far backward again by a swipe of her sword.

"That's her. The one Masters wanted!" One hooded figure commented.

Raven shot forward like a bullet, leaving a wake of mist in her path. She bashed an enemy with her shield, before flapping her wings backward to crush together two more that had tried to attack from behind. She yelled with pain as a spear of ice found its way under her armor, and a second stabbed her leg, threatening to drop her to the ground. She knelt for a second, wings fizzling out as she watched a swarm of cloaks draw closer.

Her mind went blank for a split second. Upon opening her eyes, dread filled her mind as she realized a pitch black beak obscured the bottom of her vision.

Pierce appeared next to her, thrusting a cult member to the ground with a blade at their neck. He turned to his teammate. "Songbird!" he yelled. "Come on! You can't lose it now!"

"S-S-Stay... _away!_ " Raven managed. She dashed forward, out of the courtroom parking lot and toward the treeline. A handful of enemies followed. Once a safe distance away, Raven turned, flaring her wings out to their full span. She lowered her head, and raised her shield. " _Don't kill. Don't kill,_ " she repeated to herself.

The first dagger was blocked easily by her shield, and she trust to the side, leaving her attacker on the ground. The next enemy dodged under a swipe from her blade, and Raven turned, resorting to a wing attack. She flapped her wings, and the two felled enemies blew backward as she hopped over the attackers behind her. A third cloak was downed by a crushing blow over the head, and Raven caught the stab from a fourth in her beak, before flinging the assailant at a dust wielder to her left. She chased the pair down, depleting their auras with a blow from both wings.

She turned, facing the last two cultists. She spun to dodge a lunging attack from one, leaving them with a brutal swing of her blade and wing, both to his back. Raven poked at the last one with crossbow bolts as they charged. Easily as the first, she left him on the ground.

With a deep breath, beak and wings dissolved.

Back in the thick of combat, Pierce and Ember punched, kicked, and slashed their way through their enemies. With Spade in tonfa form, Pierce blocked a dagger strike, responding with a punch from Ace's tonfa blade. As Pierce pulled back to avoid another pair of attacks, Ember leapt to the air, knocking the first cultist to the ground with a jaw-shattering kick. Pierce used his semblance to appear next to her, parrying an attempt at a backstab before kicking the cloaked man in the stomach and bringing down Ace and Spade on the neck of his hunched form.

He looked up, barely able to move his head in time to evade the swipe of a dagger. He grabbed his attacker's wrist and flipped them into the ground, pouncing on their neck with Ace and spinning to swipe the feet out from under a cloak, leaving her to be finished off by Ember. He sprinted forward, using his semblance twice to close in on a dust wielder that had been giving him trouble. He lunged in, grabbed his attacker's head, and met it with a vicious knee.

Ember deflected a thrown dagger, and tossed her own into the air to free a hand. She caught the cult member's dagger, and threw it into its owner's throat before catching her own and dashing forward to attack two more. Once done with them, she did an about-face to confront another, dagger in each of her hands dripping blood.

"So, you're the daughter of Mrs. Blackburn, hmm?" the cloak addressed. "The Burgundy Bandit, too. Quite the reputation you've garnered."

"Shut up and die like the rest, asshole," Ember snapped. She flipped both daggers at the figure, who blocked both easily. She pulled two more from her back, and lunged forward. One swipe dodged, then a downward jab parried. Ember flipped backward before attacking again, halting her first attack and spinning around to land the second behind her back in her enemy's moment of recovery. She rolled forward to retrieve her first dagger, and whipped around the analyze the source of a flash of light.

Her enemy was gone.

" _That damn teleport guy again, huh?_ " she thought. " _Only their higher-ups are even worth our time..._ " Just then, Ember's vision cut out. Using her semblance, she watched from some nonexistent observer's position as a dagger sunk between her shoulder blades, and she fell victim to the Church of Awakening.

Without so much as a glance, she blocked the attack behind her back with a dagger of her own. She flipped another from the sheath on her thigh, and thrust it into the cultist's gut before spinning on her heel to aim a kick into her enemy's neck. Her attack knocked her enemy back, and she lunged forward with daggers prepared to strike.

"Wait, Ember stop!" the cultist pleaded.

Ember froze.

She saw her shadow blink across the ground in a flash of light, along with a second figure above her. She screamed in pain as a dagger tore across her back, depleting her aura across her shoulders and sinking into her skin for several inches down her back. She fell to the concrete.

Pierce snapped his head to the side upon hearing Ember's scream, and saw her assailant standing over her, dagger poised to bear down. His vision cut to a scene he had tried for years to suppress, him raising his own weapon at Ember as she slept peacefully. She had known too much, she had to die.

Yet, back then, he could not bring himself to pull the trigger.

"Get the _fuck_ off her!" he shouted, firing an ear-shattering blast from Ace into the hooded figure's head. A colorless aura fizzled out around him, and Pierce fired again. Shot after shot rang out into the night as Pierce fired savagely into the attacker's crumpling form, only stopping when the sound of gunfire replaced itself with an empty click. The cultist lay motionless in a growing pool of blood.

Breath after breath raised into the rainy night on a cloud of fog as Pierce lowered his weapon. Near everyone had stopped after Pierce's second or third shot to bear witness to his slaughter. "Ember. You okay?" Pierce asked, kneeling next to the crimson-haired huntress. Dustyn and Ezelia hopped in to form a protective barrier around the two.

"Been better," Ember admitted. "Hurts like hell, but I'm sure it's nothing Azure can't patch up. Let me fight more."

"Hell no," Pierce defied. He pulled his scroll from his pocket, and called Greyson. After several seconds, he picked up. "Hey. Ember's been hurt, but it's not severe. I'm getting her to safety," he declared.

"Got it," Greyson answered. He tumbled to dodge a grenade blast launched by Vladimir, then hung up his scroll. "Kita!" he yelled. "Keep to his back!"

"Right!" Kita pledged. She ran to Vladimir's front, juked around a savage lance thrust, then brought Kenakuma up the huntsman's side. With one hand, she spun a kunai from her belt around her finger, and flipped it up to Vladimir's face. Using the split second of obscured vision from his shield being raised, Kita landed a second attack to his back, and Greyson charged in.

His first pair of slashes was blocked by Vladimir's shield. He used Nimbus to deflect a sweeping lance attack, then tumbled to the side to blast a lightning bolt into Vladimir's stomach. He recoiled for a split second, but turned with unexpected speed to bash Kita to the ground with his shield. Vladmir's lance pierced concrete as Kita dodged with a split second to spare. Greyson launched forward, but Vladimir jumped over his lance, stood on it with tip still embedded in the ground, and launched a grenade. Kita was caught in the fiery blast, and Vladimir shot forward into Greyson, knocking him too to the ground with the force of a speeding truck.

Greyson swore, feeling his head spinning and tasting blood. He looked to Kita behind Vladimir, who was slow to stand. "Kita, pull back!" he demanded.

Alexandra stared down her nemesis, whose jumpsuit had burned away in patches across her arms and torso. Judging by her scorched skin, and new burn scar across the side of her face, Midna Garnett's aura had long since been depleted. Alexandra knew her shape was not much better. With her new scroll, she analyzed her condition. Mrs. Garnett's icicle, as well as a spare dagger attack, had left her with the slightest sliver of aura.

Any attack, from either of the dust wielders, would be fatal.

"You!" Mrs. Garnett screamed. "What... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!"

"I think I've done your face a favor," Alexandra snapped. "But now that we're outside, the _real_ fight can begin."

"I... I will make _sure_ you suffer what the Inyan felt, tenfold!" Mrs. Garnett screamed. "Where's that masked girl, huh? I'll burn her to ashes as you watch! Close your eyes, and I'll make her scream louder!"

"You, keep her the _hell_ out of this! This is between us!" Alexandra retorted. Without letting Mrs. Garnett get another word in, she ripped her arm across her body, tearing a spine of jagged stone spires in an arc toward her foe. The stone made a deep crunching noise as it collided with the wall Mrs. Garnett produced. Spearlike tips of stone poked out from the wall, before shooting off to careen toward Alexandra.

She felt air rip past her skin as she narrowly dodged the vicious artillery, then raised her hand to reduce the next few to sand. She took a split second to note the rain pouring from the sky to accumulate in puddles on the ground. As Midna's wall split to reveal its maker, colossal icicles snaked along the ground, bearing down on her from each direction. Midna flipped backward to evade, and melted them down with a plume of flame.

Alexandra ran forward then reached out both arms to form a bubble of the resulting water around Midna's nose and mouth. She flailed for several seconds, clawing at the sphere of water that threatened to drown her before blasting it with flame to produce a thick steam.

Noticing the moment of opportunity, Kita ran in from the side, Kenakuma poised to strike. As she planted her foot and began to raise her blade across the dust wielder's neck, Midna raised an arm to one side.

"Tempus diapsalma."

Kita froze in place, blade half a foot from finishing off Midna. Alexandra froze as well, one hand holding Crown Jewel to her head, the other reaching out for Kita as a scream of horror froze upon her face.

Midna Garnett slowly strode a safe distance away from Kita. She turned, and rose a pillar of stone in her blade's path. With a blank look on her face, she produced a ball of dancing flame. Searing heat surrounded the masked huntress as Midna encircled her her flame.

Time resumed.

Kita's blade lodged in the stone spire, and she screamed in pain as the flame closed in. Forgetting everyone around her, Alexandra blasted a destructive gust of frigid wind in every direction. Frost coated the cement for a hundred feet around her, interrupted by a spire of ice at even intervals.

The dozens of hooded figures still standing paused, and looked in the direction of both Garnetts. Without a word, they broke into a full sprint toward the treeline, leaving behind Twilight Crusade, the public, and their injured comrades.

"Wh-Where are they going?" Alexandra questioned.

Without reply, Midna lowered her hand. Flame reacting with the frost across the ground, a thick haze overtook the battlefield.

"No! Damn it, get back here and fight me!" Alexandra shouted. She tore line after line of jagged stone from the concrete, firing blindly into the fog as she ran to the trees.

"All enemies are retreating, do not pursue them!" Greyson's voice called through her scroll. "Our priority is making sure the injured are safe!"

Alexandra slowed, tripping over the body of a cultist and stumbling to the ground. She panted, crawling forward before planting a foot on the ground to stand. "Get... get back here!" she pleaded.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Kita. Her mask had burned at the edges, yet she otherwise seemed unharmed. "Come," she said. "We must regroup."

Alexandra looked to the trees through the thinning haze. She had torn the parking lot to shreds of stone, striking down a handful of cultists in her attempt at Midna. With a blank stare, she let out a deep breath.

Midna Garnett had escaped.

 **Note: Pretty big chapter, considering how much I had to rework everything last minute. Once again, I'm breaking out the classic question. Who is your favorite member of Twilight Crusade, and why?**


	56. V4: Recuperation

Following several hours of medical care, then several more hours of aiding in the police department's questioning and investigation, Greyson and his friends went home. They arrived at Greyson's house in the earliest hours of the morning. He and his parents, who had been glued anxiously to the television all night, took to securing spare pillows and blankets for Dustyn, Ezelia, Rusty, Raven, and Alexandra. Greyson decided to take a shower before heading to bed. He could barely stand, the aches of combat wracking his entire body, and his knees threatening to buckle. Once out, he was asleep within minutes.

Just before noon, Twilight Crusade gathered in Greyson's living room, filling the couches, extra chair, and a spare few spots on the floor. Greyson stood before them, composing his thoughts. "So, I think it's necessary we go over what happened last night," he stated. He looked down to his scroll. "As for the good news, forty-six cultists have been apprehended, and twenty-four more were killed. I'm not sure how many are left, but it's safe to say that was a reasonably sized chunk of their population." He scrolled down, taking a second to catch his breath. "The truth behind the Garnetts, and what happened in the Yamakori mountains, is out. No official word from Prosecutor Slate or the police force, but I assume we're in better standing now."

"The Twilight Crusade websites are active again!" Rusty interjected. "They know who all of us are after yesterday!" He chuckled. "Hey, look at this poll. 'Who's the cutest girl on Twilight Crusade?'"

Raven leaned over his shoulder. "A-Azure is winning b-by quite a bit. N-No surprise there." She pulled back a bit, eyes widening. "O-Oh. I-I'm a little higher than expected..."

"There are more polls," Rusty continued. "'Who is your favorite member?,' 'Who do you think is strongest?' and a personality test that matches the person to one of us!"

"No love for the dudes?" Dustyn questioned. "Where's the 'which guy is most attractive?' poll?"

"Th-They're treating us like fictional characters," Raven commented.

"Who's leading in the popularity polls?" Ezelia asked.

"Ehh, you can look that one up yourself. I don't wanna start any drama here," Rusty replied. "...Anyway. Greyson?"

"Calling last night a victory is a stretch," he continued. "The damage to the courthouse is worth up to a million lien, they might have to build an entirely new one. Also, four civilians were killed, all in the initial blast."

"We tried to save them, we really did..." Dustyn lamented.

"It's not your fault," Azure replied. "There was nothing I could have done either. It's the Garnetts we have to blame."

Greyson nodded. "Last, and most immediately troubling, Midna Garnett has escaped. It's likely she and Vladimir will begin to act again. However, as much as I would like to mount a preemptive strike, we know next to nothing about their location."

"So, what do you propose we do?" Ember inquired.

"I'm not sure," Greyson admitted. "For now, let's take some time to regroup. Take on missions if anyone calls for us, but let's not make too much noise. If we fight the Church of Awakening, I want to be the one catching them off guard."

Pierce stretched for a couple of seconds after the meeting adjourned. His gaze flicked to the side, noticing Dustyn walk up as the rest of Twilight Crusade began to talk among themselves, or separate to make breakfast.

"Hey," Dustyn said, keeping his voice low. "Come outside with Ezelia, Raven and I."

"Why?"

"We just want to ask you something, it's no big deal," Dustyn claimed.

Pierce's raccoon ears flattened. He looked around the room. Raven sat nearby, looking at her scroll, and Ezelia leaned against the kitchen entryway in an attempt to appear inconspicuous. "...Fine," he conceded.

Dustyn led Pierce, Raven, and Ezelia into the field bordering Greyson's house. A middle aged woman threw a tennis ball for her dog far at the other end, but Dustyn decided she was well out of earshot. At the base of a pine tree, he turned to face his teammates.

"Look," he began. "You've been acting up lately. Ever since we fought the Spectre the second time, we feel like you've been hiding something." He looked Pierce in the eyes. "What did you see when the Spectre possessed you?"

"Nothing that matters," Pierce answered curtly. "If this is what you wanted to ask me, it doesn't matter. Drop it."

"We can tell you're hiding something. Probably something really really big," Ezelia insisted.

"And? If it concerned you, I would have told you."

"It does concern us!" Dustyn contended. "We're teammates!"

Pierce shook his head. "Some of this, I can't even trust Ember with knowing," he said. "I'm doing you a favor by not detailing some of the things I've done."

"I-I know how it feels," Raven began. "Our pasts a-are a lot different. Who we are i-is a lot different. B-But I know how it feels to suffer, a-and feel like there's no one to tell. Th-That you c-can't trust anyone." She sighed, looking from the ground up to her team leader. "B-But you can trust us. Y-You don't have to suffer alone!"

"I don't know what you guys will think of me."

"Wh-What we think won't change," Raven assured. "Letting everything off your chest w-will make you feel better. I know it will."

Pierce took a deep breath. "When the Spectre got to me, I saw... the past," he began. "I never even knew my mom. She must have been a faunus, but as far as I figure, she was a street girl who had the misfortune of catching my father's eye. He took me for whatever reason, and got rid of her. He was the don of Vale's mafia. Pretty sure Raven at least knows that much. Time after time, he had me do his dirty work. Torture, assassinations, and disposing of the bodies... all a bit much for an eleven year old boy."

"Damn, I'd imagine..." Dustyn emphasized.

"Didn't feel a damn thing when my old man died. Not sure if it was the abuse, or if I was already completely numb by then," Pierce continued. "All I know is, it was my turn to be the don. Then some bastard damn near killed me, and took my place. The mafia before was underground. A business, though a shady one. He brought us to the surface, coating the streets in blood. Just trying to save my own ass and live a quiet life, I decided the mafia had to end. That's when I met Ember."

"I-I heard a little about this," Raven said. "Y-You and her dissolved it. Y-You tore it apart from the inside."

Pierce nodded. "Planted a little money here, a couple thousand dollars worth of drugs there. They were at each other's throats within half a week. Ember and I had to fight for our lives too, of course. Fifteen, twenty guys died because of what we did. A few we killed by our own hand." He shifted uncomfortably, then looked aside to the woman and her dog. Still far away, she ruffled up his fur and tossed the ball again. "...But, I hardly think about them anymore. What bothers me most about the whole ordeal is that... I... _I almost killed Ember._ "

Dustyn paused, gazing at Pierce with wide eyes. Raven cracked a knuckle out of nervousness.

"You did what?" Ezelia questioned.

"She knew too much. Where I kept the money, everything about me, really," Pierce explained. "But, I couldn't do it. I never knew why. She was a promising huntress, to end her life there would be a shame. But I had killed so many already, so many I had called friends, and so many I had considered family. I just couldn't pull the trigger."

"Th-That just means y-you aren't entirely numb," Raven reasoned. "Y-You still care."

Pierce shook his head. "...Then there was all the horrible shit I had to do as the Phantom. I tried to get my plans thwarted by you, but I killed then as well. Huntsmen just like us, police officers just doing their job, who wanted nothing more than to clock out and go home to their families. I've lost track of all the people I've killed, all the evidence I've destroyed. I've lost track of how many times these memories have come flooding back and how many nightmares I've had. No matter how hard I try to suppress them."

"W-We said, th-that what we think won't change," Raven stammered. "A-And it's true. Y-You're still our leader, a-and our friend."

"I went from mafia hitman, to common criminal, to terrorist," Pierce challenged. "How in the hell does this not matter to you?!"

Dustyn grinned. "You always scared me a bit, that sure as hell isn't changing!" his smile faded. "But seriously. All that's behind you. You're a badass huntsman now! We save lives!"

"If, uh... If you ever get to a point, where you want to talk about how you got rid of the evidence, and all that stuff about the mafia's dirty work..." Ezelia began. She let out a nervous laugh. "I think that's pretty interesting stuff, so if you could tell me about that somet-"

"Okay, time to go inside," Dustyn cut in. "I think Azure's doing french toast today. Let's not miss that."


	57. V4: The Excavation Company

Nearly a month passed. News about the Garnetts had since slowed to a crawl, and though Greyson and the others occasionally looked into the location of the Church of Awakening's base, nothing came up. The coldest days of Winter were over, and though Greyson was glad to be rid of the snow for another year, the rain that poured day after day was only slightly preferable. Valentine's Day and Azure's birthday had both passed, and to make up for the dates and expensive gifts, Greyson worked additional shifts at his parents' cafe.

Greyson wiped at a coffee maker with his cleaning rag, ensuring the lights of the cafe reflected in its metallic gleam. It was late morning, just after the pre-work rush and before the lunch rush. The "eye of the storm," as Greyson called it. Apart from Azure, and the members of Twilight Crusade who usually stayed at Rusty's house, the only customers who took refuge from the rain in the cafe were Haven Academy students, and a handful of middle-aged women sitting around a table in the corner.

"Y'know? Still not a big fan of coffee," Alexandra noted. She held her cup up toward Greyson. "But this stuff isn't bad."

"... _Probably_ because you dumped about six packs of sugar into it," Dustyn guessed.

"Hey, it's still coffee!" Alexandra argued. "Sugar just so happens to make it taste better!"

"Not if you ask Greyson," Azure commented.

" _Pretty_ sure I saw him start cringing at about your third sugar packet," Rusty added.

Greyson shrugged. "Coffee has a complex flavor profile," he explained. "Drinking coffee black,without sweetener, is the only way to get the whole experience." He pointed to the menu behind his back with a thumb. "Besides, it's two lien cheaper than most of our specialties."

"No amount of money makes up for the fact it tastes like dirt," Alexandra contested. "Er, no offense. All coffee does."

"Hey, Greyson," Mr. Skye called, appearing in the doorway to the back room. He held out Greyson's scroll. "You've been called three, four times now. Go ahead and take it, it might be important."

"Oh, thanks," Greyson replied, slipping off a glove and grabbing his scroll. He turned to the others, and allowed them to follow him to the back as he checked his missed calls. They were from an unknown number, not family, nor a member of Twilight Crusade. With a slight twinge of relief, he realized the number was not the prosecutor's.

Before he had a chance to call again, his scroll began to vibrate.

"Hello?" Greyson answered.

"Hi, is this Greyson Skye, leader of Twilight Crusade?" a voice on the other end inquired.

"Yes, this is him. Sorry I couldn't answer until now"

"Wonderful. And no worries, I'm sure your life is quite busy right now," the voice responded. "This is Marigold Astera, secretary of TerraTech Excavation Company. We have a job for you."

Greyson fumbled around the shelves for a bit, before finding a pen and paper. He stepped over to a shelf at about table height. "Our schedules are pretty open, what will the job be?"

"We at TerraTech partner with other companies, to provide their excavation equipment. Our largest partners are the Schnee Dust company, and Agaupt Precious Metals Corporation, along with a few construction firms," Secretary Astera began. "But recently, several of our shipments have been derailed. Likely common bandits stealing our products for scrap metal, or wiring they can sell."

"Got it," Greyson confirmed. "Do you have a location? Somewhere we might find these bandits?"

"No. Your assignment would be to set up along the train's path, in the area where the derailments have occurred. Watch for bandits, and when you find them, follow them. Law enforcement will be waiting nearby."

Greyson scribbled down the details as quickly as he could, giving up on words halfway through to sketch a crude drawing of their mission plan. "Okay. When would this be?"

"The first shipment we would like you to watch will be departing our headquarters this Saturday, March second. We can arrange a transport for your group tomorrow, and have you spend the night at our headquarters. Would this work for you?"

Greyson turned to his crew.

"You said if we get calls, we should take them!" Rusty reminded. "I think we should do it!"

"We didn't have any plans this weekend!" Azure chimed in.

"Wh-What about the others?" Raven considered. "I-I didn't hear anything about this weekend, f-from Ember or Pierce... And th-they're usually on board with our missions."

"And Kita would probably like, walk into Hell to kill the God of Darkness if someone told her to," Alexandra said. "I'd guess she's fine with dealing with some bandits."

Greyson raised his scroll to his mouth. "...We'll do it."

The TerraTech headquarters was surprisingly uninviting for the main base of a huge corporation. It sat in the middle of a marshy field, an hour or so to the East of downtown Mistral by airship. The secretary, a woman with golden hair pulled back into a bushy bun, led Twilight Crusade from the airship, and inside. The main lobby was round, a massive drilling rig dwarfing the front desk as its main decoration. Several smaller pieces of excavation equipment adorned the reddish walls, some even hanging on thick cords from the rafters.

"This is the TerraTech Blast Driller 1, our first mass-produced excavation vehicle," the secretary explained, indicating the most prominent machine. She led the group through the lobby, and down a hallway to the back. "You will be staying in a room just down this hallway, and up a flight of stairs. Dinner will be provided, as will breakfast tomorrow. Bathrooms, unfortunately, will be on the ground floor, just next to the stairwell.

Azure glanced at each framed photograph as she walked down the hall. Most were unremarkable black and white photographs of drilling equipment and the headquarter's construction, changing to color photographs halfway through.

When she neared the stairwell, she halted.

Encased in a black wooden frame was a photo of a man who was presumably TerraTech's president, shaking hands with Lucius Garnett. A plastic rose had been taped to the frame.

Azure snuck a picture on her scroll before rejoining Twilight Crusade at the stairway.

Multiple hours passed. The dinner supplied by the company was decent but nothing special, a generous helping of pasta with garlic bread on the side. After dinner, there was very little to do besides talk. Greyson felt it would be best to stay near the allowed room and bathroom. Even if he decided to be more adventurous, neither TerraTech's headquarters nor the grassy marshland outside would prove much more exciting.

"So... guys?" Azure said after a lull in conversation. She raised her scroll, which she had been fidgeting with for several minutes. "I have something we might want to look at."

"No way, Mr. Garnett?" Rusty commented, looking at the picture Azure sent to the group. "Was that just out in the hallway?"

"Yeah," Azure confirmed. "They said they've partnered with the Schnee Dust company, which is probably why TerraTech sounds familiar," she continued. "I don't doubt they've worked with Agaupt, but they _conveniently_ left out their partnership with Garnett Jewelers..."

"A bit _too_ convenient, if you ask me," Ember added.

"It's concerning, true," Greyson admitted. "Let's be careful, but continue the mission. They might actually need our help."

"...Not finding any news on trains being derailed," Rusty noted, scrolling through his web browser. "If it's a shipment way out here, it might not be front page material, but you'd think there would be _something..._ "

Dustyn stood. "I'm gonna go look at that picture," he declared.

Ezelia and Alexandra followed him out the door. Dustyn took a second to orient himself, then pointed in the direction of the lobby.

"Hey, it's this one here!" Alexandra exclaimed, standing by the wall and pointing to a framed picture at head height. "Oh wow, that's totally him."

"Read the plaque!" Ezelia said. " _TerraTech president Cliff Bronson celebrates partnership with Garnett Jewelers!_ This was only a couple months ago!"

"Hey!" a man's voice bellowed. All three jumped, before looking at the end of the hallway, where a security guard stood. "What are you three up to?"

"Nothing!" Alexandra replied.

"We were hired to help! Something about trains being derailed?" Dustyn added.

"Oh, right," the guard replied, lowering his flashlight. "You kids get back upstairs. There's a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

Sleep was uneasy that night, but it came. Fragments of nightmares plagued Greyson's dreams. Images of fire and darkness, screeches of grimm and human alike, repeatedly shook him from rest. Each time, he woke with a start to find the room in perfect silence and calm, all of his teammates in deep sleep.

The next morning, Twilight Crusade was treated to pancake and eggs. After the meal, and after showering and preparing for the day, the team was transported on a bumpy one-way road, which ran with river on one side and railroad on the other. After crossing the rails carefully, Twilight Crusade waited on the crest of a hill overlooking the swamp. Minutes turned to hours, with no sign of bandits nor train. Bored, Greyson took to examining the surroundings.

Far in the distance, a crest of mountains rose over forest. Nearer, yet still on the edges of Greyson's vision, forest faded to sparse wetlands. A few remnants of buildings dotted the landscape, but due to their disrepair Greyson figured they had been abandoned long ago. A cold breeze rustled the bare branches of the few trees that broke up the marshy brown and faded green landscape. The rattling wood and the calls of birds that fluttered among them were the only sound.

"Why would a huge company build their headquarters way out in the sticks like this?" Rusty pondered.

"Land's probably cheap," Ember figured. "Though they probably didn't save much with all they spend on transportation and huntsmen."

"Maybe they built on a dig site?" Ezelia surmised. She cocked her head, appearing deep in thought. "But they just make the equipment, they don't mine it themselves..."

"Hey- what the..." Rusty interjected. "My scroll just went nuts. _Nine calls from home?_ "

"Th-That's not good..." Raven commented, moving in closer and looking at his scroll.

Rusty tapped his screen, then raised his scroll to the side of his head. After a few seconds, he lowered it in irritation. "Damn, signal cut out again."

"I-I'm not getting much of a signal on mine, either..." Raven added.

"It was fine back at the headquarters," Alexandra stated. "I even was on my scroll for a bit on the way over. It's like we're in a pocket of bad service."

"Hey, I'm getting something," Greyson declared. His face hardened. "It's the prosecutor... Hello?"

"Where are you?" Shale reprimanded. "You're not off the hook yet. I had to get access to a _military line_ just to contact you!"

"Oh, sorry," Greyson replied. "We're out in the East, doing a job for TerraTech. Sorry I forgot to tell you, it completely slipped my mind."

"We need you back."

"What? I'm sorry, but we can't come back at the moment," Greyson responded. "We're watching a shipment, something about bandits attacking the transport?"

"Hajimaru is under attack."


	58. V4: Attack on Hajimaru

"Hajimaru is WHAT?!" Greyson nearly screamed into his scroll.

"Hajimaru is under attack. It's unclear by whom," Shale Slate reported. "The streets are filled with grimm, it's almost dark as night here." A sigh was heard through Greyson's scroll "...It reminds me of the news footage from Beacon's fall."

"Get us over there, as soon as possible," Greyson commanded. "Send us a spare military transport if you have any right now. The fastest you have."

"Got it. Calling dispatch as soon as possible."

"What's going on?" Azure inquired, voice wracked with anxiety.

Greyson cracked a knuckle. "Hajimaru is being attacked."

The next hour was the most stressful of Greyson's life. In the half waiting for the transport, Greyson paced back and forth, stretching, making triple-sure his weapons were sharpened and loaded, and mentally cursing TerraTech for their setup. Azure tried to console him to little success, eventually focusing on organizing the medical equipment in her purse and refilling the dust in Moonbow to full. From Kita's moments of meditation, to Ember flipping daggers into Alexandra's moving spires of ice, each member of Twilight Crusade did what they could to keep their nerves at bay, and prepare for the fight they knew was imminent.

The transport arrived, and Twilight Crusade piled in. Within ten seconds of landing, it took to the skies again, leaving Greyson glued to the back of his seat as it rushed toward his hometown. A couple minutes into the flight, Greyson, Rusty, and Raven's scrolls vibrated with a chorus of missed notifications. Raven and Rusty were able to call their parents, whose home apparently was far enough to the outskirts the city that they could escape. Greyson looked through his dozens of missed messages and calls.

All at once, ten minutes prior, the stream of notifications had stopped.

The sky blackened as they neared Hajimaru, the choking clouds darker than any storm Greyson had ever seen. A maelstrom of indescribably dark matter spiralled up to the clouds like a colossal tornado, focusing on Hajimaru's suburban center, just West of downtown. Upon meeting the clouds, the mass dispersed into them in what looked like jet black veins, which pulsed with dark energy.

Greyson felt sick, nearly stumbling to the cabin floor as he realized the mass centered on his home.

The airship landed at a temporary base set up on the Eastern outskirts of Hajimaru, off to the side of a freeway. Lined up out of the city was the caravan of cars lucky enough to evacuate. Going in was a convoy of armored trucks. The base was nothing more than sturdy tents propped up on the flattest land they could find, perimeter barricaded by armed militants and fencing.

Twilight Crusade was ushered into the largest tent, in which they passed rows of air mattresses, each one filled by an injured huntsman, military member, or civilian. Their groans of agony drowned out the rain pelting the tent above.

Eventually, they met up with a man in a decorated military uniform, with balding remnants of silver hair and a deep scar running across his cheek. Several of his subordinates stood near the table he leaned on.

"So, you're the huntsman group?" the general assessed. "We've already got professionals in there. What are a bunch of kids gonna do?"

"We've fought in a battle like this before... sir," Greyson rigidly answered. "I'm sorry, but whether you order us to or not, I _will_ protect my hometown."

"Ah, whatever," the general dismissed, waving his hand. "We could use some extra hands, and that prosecutor seemed to think highly of you." He opened the scroll in front of him, and it projected a map between him and Greyson. The man at the table pointed to the edge of Hajimaru. "We're here, where we've dubbed sector one. Grimm activity is minimal, and it's mostly used for evacuation and securing the injured."

"I should stay here," Azure stated. "It doesn't look like you have enough medical staff on hand. And if grimm do come here, I can hold my own."

The general nodded, and his finger moved across the map, to Greyson's neighborhood. "The real party is here, sector four. An entity, whether grimm, dust, we don't know, is swirling over the city. You can see it from here."

"That's my neighborhood. I'm going," Greyson insisted.

"If he is going, that is where I will go as well," Kita added.

"...And if she's going, I am!" Alexandra concluded.

"Whatever works," the general said. His finger moved to the center of the map. "Sector three is downtown, the second worst district due to the number of people affected. Of course with more people comes more fear, and with that comes more grimm. We'll need to thin out the grimm while performing a search and rescue in that area."

"I'm going downtown. I can kill the most grimm with tall buildings nearby," Pierce analyzed. He turned to Twilight Crusade. "I think I'll take my teammates."

"That leaves Rusty and I alone. Being with only him is suicide," Ember argued.

"Hey!" Rusty objected.

"...Fine. You two will work best with Raven, I'd say. Take her."

The general looked to Ember. "Then, you three will be assigned to sector two. Like downtown, you'll be focusing mostly on search and rescue, with the added task of keeping grimm away from both here, and the downtown sector," the general concluded. "...But, there's one other thing I should mention. I'm uncertain as to how it's happening, but most casualties aren't... normal."

Greyson sported an inquisitive look, leaning back in. "What do you mean?" he inquired.

"I've been getting reports that black tendrils have been seizing the huntsmen and militants we've sent in. They overtake their victim's body. Then, they leave them soulless."

"What?!"

The general stood up straight, and beckoned for Twilight Crusade to follow. At the edge of the injured, a young man in military uniform lay rigidly still, as if trapped in a hellish sleep. "...His vital signs are all normal. Heart rate, blood pressure, nothing out of the norm. Yet, his aura is gone. He won't move. The remaining members of his squadron say they saw his aura absorbed by the mass."

"What in the hell is going on out there..." Rusty asked, expecting answer from no one.

"You're going into the most dangerous zone?" Azure asked as Twilight Crusade began to disperse.

Greyson gently placed his hands on Azure's hips. "I have to find my family," he pledged. "I'm going to come back safely, after I get them out of here." He leaned in, and the two kissed. "I'll be with Alexandra and Kita. We'll be alright."

Azure nodded wistfully. "Just... do actually come back. _Please,_ " she pleaded. "...I love you."

"I will. I love you too."

Hoping to get her mind off Greyson's departure into the city, Azure turned to the soldier who lay before her. She checked for a pulse, which she found. The man was breathing as well. Yet, he lay rigidly, and no amount of movement, light, or noise would wake him. Azure pulled a stitching needle from her bag.

"Sorry," she said under her breath. She pricked at his finger, and the needle punctured skin to produce a single tiny drop of blood. " _Looks like they're right about their auras being gone..._ " she thought. She lifted her head, looking for someone to help.

"Attention! Multiple distress calls have been reported from the theater on sixth street!" A high-ranking soldier barked from the front of the open-bed military vehicle Pierce, Dustyn, and Ezelia, shared with a dozen or so privates. "Our first priority is securing the building, and freeing those trapped inside. He pointed to the three members of Twilight Crusade. "You three! We're diving headfirst into a grimm-infested hellhole, so keep us covered!"

"Got it," Pierce confirmed. The screech of a nevermore shook the truck, causing a few of the soldiers to recoil. Pierce stood, unsheathing Ace and Spade. "...Guess that's our cue. How far is it to that theater?"

"According to the map, we're about four blocks away."

Pierce nodded. "I'll meet you guys there."

Without another word, he jumped off the side of the truck, and grappled to the post of a stoplight. He swung around it once to gain momentum, then flung himself at a nevermore with wings as wide as the street below. He used his semblance to avoid a snap of the monster's beak, and rolled down its spine with slashes from both blades. He kicked off the back of the bird, looking for his next target as he neared the ground. Apart from the hordes of grimm on the street below, Pierce noticed what looked like several black streamers, fighting the wind to bear down on him. He realized, with a start, these were the tendrils the general described.

As one tore through the air toward him, Pierce used his semblance to dodge, and grappled to the corner of a building at the end of the block. His feet skid on the concrete, and he fired a blast from Ace into the head of a creep before grappling further down the sidestreet. He could barely see the pavement below him between the jet black bodies of grimm that choked out the street. Wind ripped through his hair as a tendril barely missed him, and he looked over his shoulder just in time to be able to evade a second. He planted his feet on the hood of a parked car, flipping over backward and spraying down a pair of beowolves with Spade before grappling with Ace to continue down the street. He transformed both weapons to sword form as he slid under the legs of a deathstalker, then turned to finish it with a shot from Ace before turning the gun on an ursa and rounding the next corner.

His turn was a bit wide on account of his breakneck speed, and he careened toward the sidewalk. Pierce planted his feet on the side of a building and flipped off, decapitating a beowolf for good measure. Working back to full speed, he dodged to the side of a deathstalker's claw, and back again to avoid a tendril. Another wrapped around Pierce's right arm, but he used Spade to break free, then his semblance to dodge two others. He looked again. Even more tendrils had joined in the chase.

"Ezelia to... anyone who's listening!" Ezelia's voice called through Pierce's scroll. "The tentacle story is definitely legit! They haven't sucked my soul out yet, but they sure look like they're trying!"

Pierce approached the next intersection. Down the street to his right, the theater. Where his teammates would be, helping potential hundreds of civilians onto military trucks for evacuation. To his left, nothing but grimm. He gave one more look over his shoulder, to the now dozens of tendrils that bore down on him in a frenzied storm. He pulled his scroll from his pocket, and called Dustyn as he rounded the corner, due left.

"Hey. Change of plans. Don't get too concerned, but I'm not gonna meet you there."


	59. V4: The Huntsman Killer

"Wait, what?!" Dustyn yelled into his scroll. He and Ezelia stood back to back next to the military transport as soldiers piled out and filed into the theater while taking shots at the wall of approaching grimm. "We need you here! Where are you going?!"

"Not sure," Pierce admitted. "...But you don't want me there. Trust me."

A click on the other end of the line let Dustyn know Pierce had hung up.

Dustyn swore, gripping his scroll with white knuckles and returning it to his pocket. "Guess it's just you and me, babe."

"And a crap-ton of grimm!" Ezelia added.

Dustyn lifted Boomstick from his back, and spun it to a position at his side, ready to strike. "Well, yeah. But our job is to get rid of 'em."

A pair of beowolves were first. Dustyn spun Boomstick around to slash at the throat of one, then reversed to sever the arm of the second before transforming his weapon into musket for to fire into the grimm's chest. After a brief pause, it exploded and fell to the ground. After spinning his way through a small horde of beowolves and creeps, Dustyn dodged a vicious swing from an ursa, and jabbed his naginata blade deep into its gut. He twisted, causing the beast to go rigid from pain. From the back, it was finished by an overhead cleave by Ezelia.

The first evacuees from the movie theater emerged, huddled masses with military guards at each side. Dustyn looked past them, where a deathstalker emerged from around the street corner, and a nevermore perched on top of a building, spreading its wings and letting out a baleful screech. The sky seemed to darken.

"Babe, get on that side!" Dustyn called, pointing to the grimm.

"Got it!" Ezelia confirmed. "Don't die over here!"

Ezelia ran through a gap in the evacuees, engaging the deathstalker head-on with a grin on her face. She deflected the swipe of one claw, then spun to do the same to the other. As the massive golden stinger bore down on her, she jumped up and back, swinging Grimm Cat's axe form over her head to split it down the middle. As the beast pulled back, Ezelia heard another screech, and a flap of wings.

The nevermore had taken to the sky, and began a descent toward an escaping military transport. Ezelia used a controlled blast from Grimm Cat to propel herself onto the deathstalker's back, then took a split second to line up a bigger one. She let loose, hitting her target and causing the massive bird to disintegrate before it reached the ground. Ezelia was flung backward by the force of her attack, and used her momentum to sever the deathstalker's tail completely.

Her feet planted on the ground when she landed, and she ran toward the massive scorpion once more.

Dustyn breathed heavily, holding Naginata blade at its maximum extent as a warning to the snarling beowolves and griffons that stood around him in a semicircle. One beowolf hopped forward half a foot with snapping jaws, and Dustyn thrust it back with his weapon.

Tired of waiting, a griffon soared toward him. Dustyn lunged under the grimm's beak, impaling its front left leg. Still stuck in the grimm, he pointed the handle of his weapon upward, and fired a musket shot into its head. He retracted his weapon just in time to plunge it into the gut of a beowolf and raise the monster above his head to protect from his explosive gunshot. He spun Boomstick to cleave a second griffon's leg in two, before continuing on to a trio of beowolves. Each of their swipes and bites were met by slashes, musket shots, and blunt strikes.

"Pull back!" a soldier commanded. "Theater is clear! Pull back for now!"

"What about Pierce?" Dustyn questioned.

"He's gone AWOL!" the soldier returned. "What happens to him isn't our concern! Now pull back!"

Dustyn looked down the street, the direction in which Pierce headed. He saw nothing but darkness. With a reluctant sigh, he fired off one last shot into an approaching beowolf and mounted Boomstick to his back.

Ember, Rusty, and Raven's transport careened Northwest through the streets, narrowly blowing by abandoned cars and around corners in an attempt to escape the fleet of tendrils that pursued them. Soldiers fired their guns, and though the shots seemed to destroy the snakelike entities, more joined on the chase.

The car, along with the two behind it, slowed to a stop upon reaching Hajimaru's main shopping district. Soulless bodies lay at each side of the street, and huddled together inside the stores that lined them. At the end of the street was an intersection, with the parking lot of a huge retail store straight ahead.

The lot was filled with grimm.

"Huntsmen!" the sergeant called. He pointed forward. "Take care of the grimm! Soldiers, open fire!"

A cacophony of gunfire erupted into the street, a hail of bullets aimed at the incoming tendrils. Ember dismounted the vehicle, with Rusty and Raven close behind. The three took out several smaller grimm on approach, running full speed at the horde of grimm from the parking lot. They met a block from the end of the street.

As Raven dropped several grimm with crossbow bolts, Ember sprinted forward. She threw a dagger into the knee of a beowolf, then rolled forward to grab her blade, twist it, and snap the monster's head backward with an upward kick. She finished it off by following her kick with a leap into the air, and slinging two daggers into the beowolf's chest. A king taijitu, the length of a python, was next. Ember stabbed upward through the black head, then grappled around to the back of the white head as it bore down on her. Planting one foot on the ground to control the snake's thrashing, she drove the white head downward onto her blade. She flipped the snake over to retrieve her weapon, then charged a pair of ursa.

Rusty lashed through a small horde of beowolves, before grappling one and flinging it toward Raven. She bashed it with her shield, then impaled it on her blade as it landed, killing it. She ran to intercept a deathstalker, sliding under its body to sever two legs on its left side. Rusty threw Child's Play around its stinger, wrenching it to the ground and allowing Raven to cleave the beast's tail in two. It shrieked, and with a pair of slashes from both Rusty and Raven, it began to disappear.

Three griffons fell from the sky, one from Rusty tearing around its neck with his weapon, the other two from a volley of crossbow bolts. Raven continued to fire at the beasts that tore through the sky, threatening the military convoy behind them. Rusty defended her, throwing Child's Play around the neck of an ursa and wrenching it into Ember's daggers.

The clattering storm of gunfire behind the three quieted, replacing itself with screams of potent terror. Rusty, Ember, and Raven all looked back to see a thick bundle of tendrils writhing as if alive, each ribbon of darkness dancing around its neighbors to overwhelm the three military squads.

Soon, they were quiet. The soldiers visible through the dark mass lay motionless as the uncanny tendrils pulled back from their bodies.

"That's... that's not good," Rusty commented as he backed off slowly, eyes wide

"Wh-What do we do?!" Raven asked.

"Fight," Ember replied. She looked back to the grimm behind her. "...The only way out of here is that way."

The sky darkened further for a second. Rusty, Raven, and Ember all flinched and covered their ears as a horrific shriek akin to a hawk's permeated the air, echoing harshly off the walls of the shops and the concrete below. A puddle from the earlier rain quivered, momentarily losing the reflection of Ember's horrified face.

A massive pair of wings flapped overhead.

"Watch out!" Rusty shouted. He and Raven dodged to one side, Ember to the other as the street shattered, and quaked with the weight of the behemoth that had landed.

Ember found herself down an alleyway, eyes locked with a single crimson eye the size of a grapefruit. In the width of the alleyway, she could see only the beast's head. It was fully armored and sported a colossal beak, with toothlike spikes along the side, each a foot long and jagged.

Tendrils snaked their way around the corner, grasping for Ember. She turned and sprinted away, slowing at the end of the alley only to reach into her bag. She grabbed a vial of fire dust and tossed it at the ground behind her, then struck a match and flung it as well. Brutally hot flame danced high into the entrance of the alleyway, forming a wall between the huntress and the tendrils in pursuit.

Rusty and Raven stared down the beast before them. It looked much like the griffons that swarmed the skies above, but larger. Its body was the length of a city bus, and far bulkier than an average griffon's, with shorter, wider set legs. Its arms and sides were covered almost entirely in serrated plates of armor.

"I-Is that an archgriffon?" Raven shrieked.

"I think so," Rusty anxiously answered, nodding with a look of dread painted on his face.

"B-Back at Beacon, d-didn't Professor Port say something about these?" Raven inquired, still eyeing the monster before her.

"That most professional huntsmen turn down contracts on them because of how often these things kill them?"

"Y-Yeah."

With another screech, the archgriffon lifted itself into the air, and tore forward with talons bared. Rusty and Raven rolled out of the way, and watched the beast fling grimm to the side before landing in the grocery store's parking lot across the intersection.

"Let's go!" Rusty said, pointing toward the newly created opening among the creatures of grimm. He and Raven ran forward, slashing through any grimm that attacked them on their way to the archgriffon. Just after breaking through the mass of grimm, the archgriffon leapt forward, flinging Raven back with a brutal punch from one of its wings, which sat lower on its shoulders than most griffons' wings and sported a third pair of clawed arms.

Raven blew the grimm surrounding her back with a burst of foggy air, manifesting her awakened wings. "Rusty. I-If I start to lose control, r-run. Run and leave me."

"No way! We already don't know where Ember is, there's no way I'd leave you too!" Rusty protested.

"D-Do it. The grimm w-will be attracted to me."

Rusty shook his head. "There's no-"

Raven shot forward, punching at the incoming beak of the archgriffon with her shield, and forcing it back. She braced herself against the wind as it took to the air, and tumbled backward as it slammed back to the ground, pounding the street with both wings. Raven ran forward again, slashing through a tiny gap in the beast's shoulder armor. Raven raised her shield to block a peck, but the grimm caught hold of her shield, bending the near-indestructible metal in its beak. In an attempt to break free, Raven fired several crossbow bolts into the back of its throat. It responded with a lash from its barbed tail, spikes aimed to impale Raven from the back.

Rusty took a break from defending his girlfriend against the smaller grimm to leap in and deflect the tail lash with an attack of his own. He retracted Child's Play, then turned and sent the bladed head of his weapon deep into the archgriffon's eye.

The beast recoiled and shrieked, letting Raven free of its grasp. It took to the sky again and flew toward downtown, momentarily allowing the two huntsmen to turn their focus to the smaller grimm that still swarmed them. The flapping of massive wings above let Raven and Rusty know the grimm had circled back around.

The archgriffon opened its beak, letting fly several globs of a viscous, glowing orange liquid which sizzled upon splashing to the ground, and sunk into the concrete below. As they disappeared, Raven saw the asphalt had corroded to show the dirt below. She and Rusty dodged several more corrosive globs, some melting away the grimm the huntsmen evaded. In apparent frustration, the archgriffon dove for the ground, talons focused on Raven.

She rolled out of the way just in time, and the beast tore up concrete as it skidded to a halt. It turned, and tromped toward the pair, using its wings as a third set of legs. Before reaching the two, it took to the air, and dive bombed Rusty. He attempted to dodge, but the grimm's talons slashed through his aura and sent him tumbling down the street.

"RUSTY!" Raven called. The archgriffon continued on to its prey, walking forward slowly. It stopped, then turned.

Raven's semblance had begun to overtake her body. Black armor coated her arms, legs, and torso, producing a heak that covered the lower half of her face.

Both eyes glowed with furious intensity.

Raven and the archgriffon shot through the sky toward each other, Raven's wingspan half that of the monster she challenged. Her blade shot through the beast's armored beak. She twisted, hearing an ear-shattering cry as the monster's beak cracked down the middle. She pulled her blade upward, cleaving the beak in half. Raven fell with the beast as it crashed to the ground, sinking her sword deep between its shoulder blades. It thrashed desperately, in a failing attempt to shake Raven off. It began to take to the sky.

Child's Play wrapped around one of its wings. Rusty braced with all of his strength to hold the beast back. Then, he tore downward. The head of his weapon ripped around the wing several times, tearing it to shreds. It disintegrated, and the beast fell once again.

It scratched feebly at the ground before it as it began to disintegrate.

"So, that's... over..." Rusty noted through labored breaths.

Raven still stood with her back to Rusty, shield deployed. Her wings blinked in and out of manifestation, before giving up completely. "Y-Yeah. But, we're still surrounded."

Just then, from the street to the left, a military vehicle screeched down the road. Rusty leapt into the air, waving his arms and shouting for it to stop. As a machine gun mounted to the top of the van opened fire on the swarm of grimm, a military medic jumped out, and escorted Rusty and Raven onto the vehicle. They continued on through a street thick with grimm after briefly noting the three vehicles that had been overtaken by tendrils.

"Wait, we had another!" Rusty said, looking over his shoulder to the rows of streets passing by, hoping to get a glimpse of Ember. "We got separated when the tentacles came after us, but she's still out there!"

A man in a decorated uniform, just next to the driver, turned around. "If she was alone out there, she's dead. Either that, or her soul was taken."

"No. There's no way!" Rusty protested. "She's strong! I've seen her fight, I know she's alive!"

With a shaking hand, Raven pulled out her scroll to assess her allies. She and Rusty both had their auras completely spent. Most of Twilight Crusade's auras lingered around halfway full, apart from Azure, who stayed at base.

Ember's had dropped to zero.

The picture of Ember's face next to an empty aura bar blurred as tears formed in Raven's eyes. She sniffled, and they fell.

"No... she can't be dead..." Rusty weakly denied.

The two embraced in an attempt to find any form of comfort as tears fell onto Raven's scroll.

The sound of a cord retracting cut through the air. Rusty looked up and wiped his eyes, just in time to see Pierce land on the bed of the truck before him. His chest heaved with labored breaths, and he looked to Rusty and Raven with a mixture of concern and rage etched onto his face.

"Why are you crying?! And where's Ember?!" he shouted.

"We.. we got separated. She's out there somewhere, but- but her aura is gone," Rusty shakily explained.

Pierce grabbed his collar, and thrust Rusty to the back of his seat. Raven screamed, and backed into the corner of the car as several guns were pointed Pierce's direction. "YOU DIDN'T GO BACK FOR HER?" he yelled.

"We tried!" Rusty returned. "We tried to get them to, but they wouldn't turn around for her!"

"W-We would have done it ourselves, b-but we fought an archgriffon! W-We lost our aura!" Raven explained.

Pierce let Rusty go, and sighed, turning to the rest of the men in the car. "You left a girl out there alone, to save your own asses? Fucking cowards." He reloaded his weapons, and stood at the back of the car, one foot on the seat, the other up on the side as wind ripped through his hair. "I'll get her myself."

"Sir!" another high ranking soldier challenged. "The likelihood of her being alive out there is near zero! The likelihood of you making it back alive with her is even smaller!"

"If there's _any_ chance I'll find Ember out there alive, I'm going to take it," Pierce pledged.

"Is there anything you want to relay to the rest of your group?" the man asked. "...Just in case?"

Pierce nodded. "Yeah. If I don't make it back, tell them Vladimir's got a personal escort to the gates of Hell."

Pierce gave a half-hearted salute before jumping off the back of the transport. Soon, he was obscured by the darkness.


	60. V4: Oculus

Ten minutes had passed, and progress was minimal. Dustyn and Ezelia had returned to base to meet up with Azure, and prepared to deploy again into the city. Rusty and Raven were headed for base as well, stuck in the traffic jam of vehicles escaping the city. They huddled together in the back of the car, sharing a pair of earbuds between them and listening to the local military radio.

"Yeah... we've got- looks like a huntsman on the ground here between sectors two and three..." a woman's voice reported after a long pause of static in the system. "Whoever it is, they're tearing the grimm a new one. We can't even get into the area to help them, it's so thick with grimm."

"It must be Pierce..." Rusty guessed. "It's almost scary how strong he is."

"I... I hope he's okay..." Raven said. "There were so many grimm, a-and he seemed so distraught about Ember..." Tears once again welled in her eyes. "I-I can't lose two friends in one day!"

Pierce sprinted along the edge of a rooftop, scanning the street below for any sign of Ember. Grimm stood nearly shoulder to shoulder, and the wings of nevermore beat through the skies above, their screeches near deafening. At the gap between one building an the next, Pierce hopped off the side, then grappled with Spade to stay horizontal to the ground. He tore a King Taijitu from end to end with both blades, then sprung off the head to bolt through the air at breakneck speed. His cloak spiralled around him, lending Pierce the appearance of a flying drill for a split second as he rolled to evade a deathstalker, then pulled Ace and Spade past each other to decapitate an ursa.

Pierce stuck both arms out, firing grappling hooks from each weapon to gain speed and height. As he shot forward above an intersection, he looked left to see nothing of note.

His head snapped to the other side just in time to see the tip of a deathstalker's tail ram into his gut. He was cast against the side of a restaurant, causing a thunderous cacophony of noise as he took down its sign and shattered its glass facade. His aura crackled around him, completely spent.

He grasped for the edge of a chair from one of the restaurant's few outside tables to prop himself up, gasping and grimacing from the excruciating pain in his stomach and side. He staggered to his feet, and collapsed again after a single step, shouting with pain as he realized his ankle had twisted badly. A pack of beowolves surrounded him in a semicircle.

"Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit," Pierce sputtered, fighting his way down the street in a half-crawl, half-limp. He turned the nearest corner, into an alleyway.

An ursa major blocked the way.

"Oh, _shit._ "

From deep in the alley, Pierce heard footsteps rapidly approaching. The ursa looked over its shoulder, then turned to swipe downward.

A black blur jumped to dodge the attack, planted on the wall for a split second, then spun in mid air, causing the ursa to recoil in pain. Without so much as a second's rest after landing, the blur slashed past one leg, dropping it to the ground before plunging a pair of blades deep into the beast's neck. The figure turned around.

It was Ember.

She let out a deep breath. "Lost track of how many of those shits I've killed by now. I think I got left behind."

"Rusty and Raven had no choice," Pierce explained, limping away from the beowolves. "I tried to come find you, but a deathstalker caught me from my blind spot."

"You risked your life to save me? That's not a damn thing like you," Ember jested. She chuckled. "Don't tell me you've fallen in love with me or something."

Pierce glared at the ground in silence, gritting his teeth.

Ember pulled back a bit in surprise. "...Nevermind. Not the time," she decided. She pulled a pair of daggers from the sheaths on her thighs. "Look, if we survive this, we'll talk about it."

Ember lunged forward to impale the roof of the first beowolf's mouth with the dagger in her right hand. As a second beowolf clawed at her, she tore the blade from its mouth and used it to slash into the arm of her new attacker. Flipping the dagger in her left hand to a reverse grip, she slashed at the first grimm's throat, then kicked it back into a pack mate. Both were fired through by a shot from Ace, from the building Pierce had grappled up to.

Ember jumped above a horizontal slash, coming down with both daggers on the beowolf's neck before tumbling forward over it. She flung both blades to her sides, instantly eliminating two smaller beowolves. Without unsheathing another blade, she grabbed the swipe of another beowolf in her bare hands, grappling the beast and throwing it into the jaws of an alpha beowolf.

Ember dashed forward amid Pierce's gunshots, ducking under a slash and burying a blade in the alpha's side. She rolled between its legs, and slashed at the back of one knee. As the he beast staggered and began to fall, Ember cast a vial of dust to the ground before it. Spires of jagged ice protruded from the ground With one final leap, Ember grabbed the back of the alpha beowolf's head, and impaled it on the spikes.

What was left of the pack began to disperse. Between Ember's thrown blades and Pierce's gunshots, few were able to escape.

The sky was dark as night as the military vehicle holding Greyson, Kita, and Alexandra rolled into Greyson's neighborhood. The spiralling mass of black matter seemed to have grown, spinning and pulsing into the clouds above more vigorously than before. Crackling flashes of red light lit the mass from the inside every few seconds, casting an ominous glow across the city. The streets were thick with grimm, abandoned and stalled vehicles, and the soulless bodies of Hajimaru's residents. The three huntsmen were occasionally tasked with securing a path through the creatures of darkness, a relatively easy feat for the three.

The car stalled once again, the street blocked by a pair of cars that had crashed, Greyson guessed as their drivers fled the tendrils. The transport backed up, turned and drove toward the curb. It was stuck. Several seconds passed, Greyson and the others jostling around as the truck repeatedly stalled on the curb's sharp corner. The sky above flashed deep red once more.

"Damn it! This is taking too long!" Greyson suddenly shouted, driving his fist into his seat. He unsheathed his weapons to double-check they were fully loaded. He returned them to their place on his back, and dismounted the side of the vehicle.

"Hey, get back here!" A soldier at the front of the car protested.

"Please forgive us," Kita said, donning her mask. She followed Greyson off the side of the car.

Alexandra looked to Kita and Greyson, who had already begun running toward Greyson's house. She looked to the soldier at the front of the transport. "Sorry!" she offered, before joining her friends.

On his way forward, Greyson slashed through the arm of a beowolf, and used his other weapon to fire a shotgun shell through its head. He rolled to evade an oncoming boarbatusk, which sprawled on the ground after colliding with a wall Alexandra rose from the pavement. Greyson finished it with a lightning bolt before turning back around to sidestep an ursa's claws and slash down its arm with Nimbus. He fired a blast from Blitz before slashing once with both weapons and firing a final shotgun blast, killing the beast.

Kita ran beside Greyson, cleaving beowolves in two easily with one sweep of her blade. Towering above the pack of beowolves stood a lone ursa. Kita sprinted in, dashing with unmatched speed behind the bear's attack. She turned instantly as she unsheathed her blade, tearing across the grimm's back before before sinking her blade handle-deep in its spine. She twisted her weapon and tore outward, nearly cleaving the beast in two. She continued on to the rest of the beowolves, slashing and jabbing her way through them with ease. The black head of a king taijitu lashed at her, and she dodged sideways before spinning to cleave it from the rest of the body. She dodged once again in the blink of an eye to evade the white head, and finished it off much the same.

As Greyson and Kita took to the front of combat, Alexandra lingered behind to defend them from the horde of grimm that followed. Stone skewers torn from the concrete below pierced the heads, chests, and legs of beowolves and ursa. A massive deathstalker, three times the length and nearly twice the width and height of a pickup truck it knocked effortlessly to the side, prowled forward. Alexandra ripped her hand upward, producing a line of jagged spires form the road. The spikes made a brutal crunching sound as the deathstalker shattered them with its claw, and continued forward.

Sighing in annoyance, Alexandra backed off while sweeping her arm in front of her and closing her fist, encasing the monster's claw in stone. As the beast thrashed violently, punching and stabbing at the stone prison with claw and tail, Alexandra tore another jagged line from the street. The beast went rigid, the spires sinking deep into its flesh. Alexandra looked on with intense focus, seemingly fighting the weight of the air to keep her arm moving upward.

The armor on the beast's back cracked as the stone finally found its way through, and the deathstalker began to fade.

Just over a minute later, the three had worked their way through the darkness and the grimm to the field next to Greyson's house. The modest brown home still stood, but the colossal dark mass spiralling above centered on it, narrowing into a vortex several inches wide that danced across his roof, where his living room would be.

Greyson broke into a full sprint, mostly ignoring the grimm in his path, and screaming with rage as he cut down the ones who impeded him. Though the two ran forward as well, Greyson was soon out of Kita and Alexandra's sight, due both to the wall of snarling grimm, and clouds of darkness that blew across the field.

The night-like sky lit up an eerie red. The same color as the flashes before, but persistent. Kita and Alexandra looked up, faces painted with terrified awe.

A colossal reddish orange orb, about forty feet in diameter, emerged from the black fog a hundred feet above. It was set within white armor, forming what looked like a jaw bone split down the front, each side holding half a dozen more orbs of a smaller size. A hazy black mass was set within the ring of armor. From behind the abomination, countless tendrils spread throughout the sky.

A catlike pupil emerged in the center of the orb, focusing intently on Kita and Alexandra. The being produced an uncanny gurgling sound, like a cat's purr but higher pitched.

"Is that... grimm?" Kita asked.

"That's... that's an Oculus..." Alexandra marvelled with wide eyes. Her voice had quieted to near silence.

"A what?" Kita inquired, placing her hand on the hilt of her blade.

"An Oculus," Alexandra repeated. "An old Inyan legend says it's an incredibly powerful creature of grimm, that can only be summoned by someone whose heart is fully corrupt."

A red sphere of light coalesced in front of the Oculus's pupil. Kita and Alexandra lunged to each side as a focused beam of searing red energy blasted the ground between them. A defined line of dirt about a foot wide and two feet deep had vanished. The sides of the fissure had glassified, and cast steam to the air above.

Kita closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them once more. The horrific being's weak spot glowed like a massive beacon: the eye.

"Please, cover me!" Kita implored. "When I tell you, raise me up!"

"Huh?" Alexandra questioned. "I mean, O-Okay!" Kita unsheathed Kenakuma, and ran forward into a mass of grimm, slashing her way through. With each creature fading into her sword, each breathlike pulse from deep within the blade glowed a more ardent red.

Alexandra raised a wall of stone between her and the Oculus's beam. Her wall shattered like glass as the focused ray of energy struck it, and continued to the ground. Alexandra tumbled out of the way just in time, losing a section of her cloak to the scorching blast. She rolled to her feet, summoning a blade of stone from the ground beside her as she looked up to see a swarm of tendrils coming her way. Several were destroyed by a burst of fire dust from Alexandra's palm, and she used her other hand to cleave the arm of an attacking beowolf from its body. She sidestepped a vicious bite, and stuck her sword into the beast's back before retracting her blade to slash through another pair of tendrils.

Lightning crackled from her palm, and coursed into the tendril that had worked its way around her leg. She raised a spike of stone into the chest of an oncoming ursa, and ran for a patch of open field, out of the swarm of grimm. She stood, panting for several seconds, and screamed as she dove to the ground to evade another energy ray that scorched the ground where she stood. A tendril grasped her arm, and she stuck her stone blade through it before using both hands to torch the swarm that had gathered around her. She barely dodged another beam from the Oculus.

"My love! I am ready!" Kita announced, pointing her blade toward the grimm that towered over the city.

Alexandra ripped a wall of stone in a ring around her back to prevent a grimm attack from behind. Then, Crown Jewel glowing in the darkness and her cloak flapping in the winds of darkness, she raised both hands in front of her.

Kita sprung up onto the first platform Alexandra raised from the dirt, then jumped between a second and third as they rose into the sky. Aiming herself into the eye of the beast, Kita planted her feet on the final platform, a hundred feet above the neighborhoods of Hajimaru.

"Kage no _SHŌKAN!_ " Kita shouted. She shot forward into the beast, running her thumb down the dull edge of her blade. Kenakuma extended more than twice its length as Kita yelled, bringing her blade across her body and slashing through the eye of the Oculus.

As she fell, the monstrosity faded into her sword. An eye emerged in the base of the spikes jutting out from Kenakuma's crossguard, blinking and glancing around. Alexandra extended a platform from the highest stone spire, catching Kita high in the air.

Greyson's feet pounded on his porch as he tore toward his house. He threw open the door, gasping for air from a mixture of dread and exertion. He looked up, and felt his blood run cold.

Vladimir Garnett sat on the chair by the fireplace in his living room, holding Holly, Greyson's sister, upright on his lap. Her head had fallen back on her shoulders, her green eyes wide open. The soulless bodies of his parents lay on the floor nearby, their arms outstretched toward the chair Vladimir had taken as his throne.

Several cloaked figures stood to each side, completely still.

Greyson tore Blitz and Nimbus from their sheaths, aiming both in shotgun form toward Vladimir's head. "DAMN IT!" he shouted. "LET HER GO! AND GIVE BACK THEIR SOULS, OR I _WILL_ PAINT YOUR BRAINS ACROSS THIS WALL!"

Vladimir chuckled. "Not very heroic today, are we?" he taunted. He caressed Holly's cheek like a doll, then looked back to Greyson with a devilish grin. "Plus, we both know you would hit your sister from this range, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

"Let. Her. Go," Greyson furiously insisted.

He did not notice the bundle of shadowy arms that had snaked its way out of the shadows, forming a net behind him. With a snap of Vladimir's fingers, the arms wrapped Greyson and pulled him to the ground. He grunted in rage as the arms clasped his throat tighter with each thrashing protest. He writhed on the ground, bound from foot to neck with countless black ribbons. A hooded figure stepped forward.

He placed one finger up to his mouth, signalling Greyson to be quiet as his other hand placed two fingers between his eyes.

Intense exhaustion overtook Greyson's head. His body felt heavy, fatigue spreading through each muscle until he could no longer move.

His eyes closed.

Kita and Alexandra watched from the ground as the spiralling mass above dispersed, returning the sky to its usual overcast state. Seconds later, they watched an airship rise. Its engines activated, and it shot away from the city.

 **Note: An Oculus is basically what happens when you mesh the Eye of Sauron from Lord of the Rings, a Seer from RWBY, and Vel'Koz from League of Legends. Also, about 40 seconds into "Dark Colossus Kaiju" from the Nier: Automata soundtrack is exactly what I had in mind when it comes out of the cloud.**


	61. V4: Follow the Leader

As the black mass over Hajimaru dispersed, and the skies cleared, Ezelia and Dustyn's deployment back into the city was cancelled. Instead, the two stuck with Azure, providing the most elementary of care to injured soldiers under her guidance. A few minutes later, Rusty and Raven left their vehicle to join in.

"You guys are safe!" Azure exclaimed. She took off her gloves to hug Raven, then Rusty. Her smile faded. "...Where's Ember?"

Raven cracked a knuckle, and looked to the ground. Rusty sighed. "We don't know. We got separated fighting grimm, and we lost her. Pierce went looking for her, but we haven't heard from either since."

Azure looked troubled. "I haven't heard from Greyson, either," she added. She looked over her shoulder, the the man whose shoulder wound she was working on bandaging up. "I've been assuming he's just busy, but I'm still worried."

Ten or so minutes later, a military transport pulled off the road, and stopped near the tent. Raven paused for a split second as she looked to it, then ran toward the car. Ember stepped out and helped Pierce off, supporting his weaker side. Raven hugged Ember tightly, grinning from ear to ear. She turned to Pierce, halted for a second or two with arms awkwardly raised, then gave him a brief hug as well.

"W-We're sorry! We really wanted to come back f-for you, b-but we couldn't!" Raven apologized. "W-W were so worried!"

"I left you guys alone to deal with whatever the hell you fought, so I'd say we're even. I didn't even know if you guys made it," Ember replied. She and Pierce began to walk toward the medical tent.

Azure got to work examining Pierce's ankle, which appeared to only be twisted. Much of the left side of his body had been bruised on impact with the restaurant, but he was otherwise healthy. Part way through her examination, Azure looked up.

Her shoulders sunk, and the splint she had planned to use on Pierce fell to the floor. Kita and Alexandra walked toward the group, with Greyson nowhere to be found.

Azure sprinted toward them as they approached. "Where's Greyson?!" she implored, looking first to Alexandra, then Kita.

"...We couldn't find him," Alexandra admitted, unable to keep eye contact. "I'm so sorry! We went into his house after him, but he was gone." Her gaze shifted to the ground, and she bit her lip. "...His family had their souls taken."

"The mass of darkness over the city centered at his home," Kita explained. "I believe his disappearance must be related. We also saw an airship depart before we went inside his home, and after the darkness dispersed. It was due North."

Azure stared blankly between the two, at no one in particular. Her body had gone completely still, arms hanging at her sides. "The darkness centered at his house," she repeated blankly. "Greyson disappeared, and the souls of his family members were stolen..."

"Azure?" Alexandra addressed, voice failing to mask her worry.

Azure's body suddenly jolted with animation, and her eyes took on a fierce cognizance. "It's Vladimir."

"...Huh?" Alexandra responded.

"It's Vladimir," Azure insisted. "I don't know how he stole their souls, and I don't know what that mass over the city was. But _anyone_ else would have attacked downtown Mistral. Its population is over ten times that of Hajimaru, and it's not far at all. The fact that the mass centered on Greyson's house is too much of a coincidence."

"Not sure if they were paid off or what, but TerraTech set us up," Ember accused. "We saw the picture hung up, they're partnered with the Garnetts."

"When we left, they probably let Vladimir know," Rusty added. "He waited for him, he knew Greyson would come after his family."

Azure nodded, then seeked out the general who had advised Twilight Crusade when they had first arrived. He had pulled a chair to his table, and sat with a man in a less decorated uniform, reading over an incident report on his scroll. He looked up to Azure as she approached.

"I know who perpetrated this attack," Azure asserted. "You probably know of them well by now. The Garnett family."

"They've been troublesome, yes. But why do you blame them now?"

"Judging by the fact that they attacked Hajimaru and not downtown Mistral, it's clear the intent was personal, as opposed to maximizing damage. It just so worked out that Hajimaru is a large suburb," Azure began. "The mass of darkness centered on Greyson's house, which seems to me like a direct attack on him. Also, Greyson has gone missing, without a trace. I've been abducted by the Church of Awakening before, and so has Raven, and who knows how many other faunus. They're serial abductors."

"If, then, the Church of Awakening are the perpetrators, what do you propose we do?" the general inquired. "Their last known location burned to the ground. It's safe to say their base of operations is still in Mistral, but that's all that is currently known."

"You're the ones with the intelligence network!" Azure snapped. "...Sorry." She turned to Alexandra and Kita, who stood just behind her. "Hey, you said an airship took off, right? Going North?"

Kita nodded.

Azure turned back to the general. "We need a list of all recorded airship flights out of Hajimaru, with an emphasis on this afternoon. I doubt we'll track the ship all the way to its destination, but if one was detected during the attacks that didn't line up with official records, we can be fairly sure it's the one we need to look at."

The man seated next to the general shook his head. "I doubt we can obtain the data quickly. These records can take weeks to be released, and there's a mountain of paperwork involved, even on a day with no incidents."

"Weeks?!" Azure shrieked.

The general nodded solemnly.

"Greyson will be _dead_ in weeks. I doubt they'll keep him for as long as they kept me." She huffed in irritation, pushing past the rest of Twilight Crusade with head down. "Come on. Looks like we're doing it the hard way."

Azure led Twilight Crusade to the edge of the tent, then sat down in the grass, facing the treeline. She stared blankly once more, mulling over a plethora of unpleasant thoughts. They drowned out the conversations being held by the rest of Twilight Crusade about Greyson's disappearance, and Hajimaru's evacuation.

"Hey, Azure," Pierce called.

She looked up to him without a word.

"Let's get out of earshot."

"Why?" Azure asked.

Pierce knelt next to her. "I have a plan," he cryptically stated. The two walked out into the field together, Pierce flashing Rusty a glare when he attempted to follow.

"So, what's this plan of yours?" Azure asked.

"You wanted to know all recorded flights out of the city, right?" Pierce inquired in reply.

"Yeah. But you heard them. There's no way we'll get that in time," Azure bitterly responded.

"There might be another way," Pierce suggested. I know a guy, from my days as the Phantom. He sells information, anything you could imagine. He and is group probably know what we had for dinner last night."

Azure's eyes lit up. "Let's do it!" she insisted. "Let's head over there as soon as we can!"

"I should warn you. It's not going to be cheap," Pierce advised. "They want their money up front, too. It's all shady as hell, but it'll be worth it."

"I don't care how much money I have to spend," Azure said. "If it'll get Greyson back, I'll do it."

Several hours passed before the group was allowed to leave the tent. Though exhausted, Pierce and Azure mutually decided to see the information broker the same night. At Pierce's discretion, he and Dustyn stopped in a fabric store on the way to Mistral to purchase sheets of black cloth. Pierce bought a tube of red paint on the side, and got to work detailing the bottom half of his Phantom mask into the cloth from memory.

The van carrying Twilight Crusade stopped downtown, the street that served as a border between the city's upper echelons, and the dregs. The change was obvious. On one side, stark white walls held up buildings of Mistrali architecture, which housed restaurants, theaters, and the like. Across the street, a cloud of darkness seemingly hung over the bars and thinly-disguised brothels the sat in disrepair throughout the muddy streets.

"Alright. Dustyn, you're coming with me because you're tall. The cloth I bought is a mask, so it'll cover up that stupid grin of yours. Ember, I want you with me. Wear your old mask." Pierce looked out among Twilight Crusade. "...That should be enough."

"I'm coming too," Azure added.

"No way in hell," Pierce countered. "These people aren't to be trusted. I'm sure they know who you are, and how much ransom money your parents have available to fork over."

"Hey, uh... who exactly are these people again?" Dustyn uneasily asked, the bottom half of his face covered in a black mask. He donned the hood of a black sweatshirt.

Pierce looked to him. His nose and mouth were covered similarly to Dustyn's, but the nose and jaws of a raccoon skull had been painted on in red. His right eye was covered by an eyepatch, scar halfway hidden under his mask.

"The people who will lead us to Greyson," Pierce replied.

The bar's patrons halted both conversation and activity, speaking among themselves in hushed whispers as Pierce limped in, with the masked Dustyn and Ember in tow. Immediately, Pierce noticed his former associate was gone, replaced by a heavyset middle-aged woman, with a bob of blonde hair. She wore a white dress, decorated by accents of purple.

Pierce slowed as he approached. He looked around for a second, before looking to the woman at the table, who was seemingly guarded at both sides. "By any chance have you seen a man here? He had black hair, and usually wore a blue shirt? Had an eyepatch?" he asked.

"Sounds familiar," the woman behind the table recalled. "Although, we had to ' _let him go_ ' after we realized he was pocketing the money for himself."

Pierce squinted in scrutiny, staring the woman down. "So... _you_ worked with him?"

The woman laughed. " _Worked_ with him?" she scoffed. "I was his _boss_. You can call me Lil' Miss Malachite."

"Right. Pleasure," Pierce greeted. "I need a list of all known flights out of Hajimaru today, March second. Commercial flights, shipments, _everything_ you can find."

"We can do that for you, at the right price of course," Miss Malachite responded.

"I know someone who will pay any amount of money for this information. Ten thousand lien if you have it by this time tomorrow," Pierce offered.

" _Any_ amount of money?" Miss Malachite goaded. "In that case, fifty thousand, or no deal."

"Thirty," Pierce countered.

"Seventy-five," Malachite responded, sitting back in her chair with a smug grin. "And that number will keep up n' rising if you try to bargain with me like that."

"...Fine. Seventy-five thousand," Pierce concluded. "Remember, I want that by tomorrow." He pulled out Azure's scroll, preparing to transfer the funds.

"Make it eighty thousand," Malachite returned. "I don't much care for your tone."

Pierce transferred the money, and left the bar. Azure was less than impressed with the amount of money she had to explain away to her parents, but knew if it meant bringing Greyson back, any amount was worth it. Twilight Crusade drove back to Hajimaru, and spent the night at Rusty's house, as his neighborhood was cleared to return to their homes.

Back at the bar, Miss Malachite turned to the young woman next to her, cracking a devious grin.

"Gather up the Spider's Nest, dear. It looks like we've caught some expensive prey."

 **After the recent episodes of RWBY volume 6, I decided to go against my recent non-interaction with canon and incorporate the canon story/characters into some planned plot points! Lemme know what you think!**


	62. V4: Spider's Web

"You have the information, right?" Pierce asked. He, Dustyn, and Ember once again stood in front of Miss Malachite's table, faces masked and armed to the teeth. Pierce rubbed Ace's handle at his side. "It would be a shame if that eighty thousand went to waste."

"I'm not sure what your former 'associate' let you get away with, but intimidation ain't gonna work on me, sweetheart," Malachite coolly countered. "We have what you asked for. Three undocumented flights out of Hajimaru. One was in the morning, just before ten. That and the second both happened well before the attack began." She slid Pierce a slip of paper. "This one is worth looking at. Three thirty-eight in the afternoon, an airship was seen flying North from the city's East side. The last place it was detected was over the forests a couple hours North of here."

"Perfect," Pierce replied. "Do you have an idea of where it would have landed?"

"No," Malachite responded. "But, why don't you take a trip on over to Ranhana, it's a small village right in the path of where the airship was seen. I'd wager they don't see airships much. They might know something."

"Thanks, almost got our money's worth," Pierce concluded. He turned around, and beckoned for Dustyn and Ember to follow. "Come on."

Twilight Crusade borrowed an airship from Mistral's branch of the Schnee Dust company, and flew North the next morning. Azure sat near the front of the ship alone, looking out the window. The occasional village or dirt road below was the only interruption in the monotonous sea of green that sat under a thin mist.

"You know, you're so strong, Azure," Alexandra offered, suddenly appearing in the seat next to her.

Azure looked to her, confusion in her eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean that Greyson's gone missing, and you're keeping a totally level head about things!" Alexandra replied. "I know if Kita got abducted, I'd be a complete disaster. Especially with Mrs. Garnett involved. But because of you and Pierce, we're about to find Greyson!"

Azure sighed. "...I hope so," she admitted. A weak smile drew across her lips. "You and Kita remind me a bit of Greyson and I."

"Really? How so?"

"There's the strong, silent one in the relationship, then the more outgoing one," Azure began. "The strong silent one is always rushing head-on into danger, while the outgoing one can't stop worrying about them, and wishes they would just tone it down and be safe for once. Plus, you and me both had huge crushes on the strong, silent one, and _really_ didn't think they liked us back."

"You didn't think Greyson liked you back?" Alexandra asked, cocking her head a bit out of curiosity. "I'd imagine half your school fell head over heels for you! To be honest, I kinda assumed he was the one tho had to win _you_ over."

"Greyson was... I'll put it bluntly. He was oblivious." Azure laughed a bit. "I was downright shocked when he asked me out. Over the moon, but shocked."

"It's honestly weird to imagine a time where you two weren't together," Alexandra reflected, looking past Azure to a craggy hill nestled in thick forest. "I joined you guys late, and other than... well, nevermind. I don't think I've ever seen the two of you apart."

Azure sighed, balled up her fist in her lap, then released. "...I hope it can stay that way."

The airship landed on an open swath of land, at the edge of an acre of cut forest. A rather new-looking village, a dozen or so wooden huts built close together, sat on the bank of a stream. The crude wooden sign facing Twilight Crusade read "Ranhana."

A young pair stood just past the sign, tending to a bed of flowers. Both wore clothes usual to rural Mistral, and appeared to be brother and sister, as they shared the same shade of tanned skin and sandy brown hair. The man looked to be a few years his sister's senior, with a dark brown goatee and hair shaved down the sides and back of his head.

"We don't see airships much around these parts!" the woman stated. "What brings you to our home?"

"Another airship," Azure explained. "We want to know if you saw any flying over here since Saturday afternoon."

"Sounds familiar," the man replied. "It looked like it was landing close. Just a bit to the West, maybe. Somewhere in the forest beyond the river."

Azure's eyes lit up. "It was landing close to here?" she asked. She turned to Twilight Crusade. "Come on, let's go!"

"There have been a few grimm lurkin' about as of late," the man warned. "Why don't we go with you?"

"We're huntsmen," Azure responded. "We should be okay, but thank you!"

"Nah, I think I'd best go," another male voice, this one impossibly low and gravelly, responded. Azure did an about face, and jumped with surprise at the newcomer. He was well over six feet tall, approaching seven and built like an ursa. His eyes were set deep in his skull, surrounded by circles darker than his greyish-tan skin. A thick scar marked an X on the side of his forehead.

"We're handy with our weapons, so don't worry!" the woman added, proudly spinning a pistol on one finger.

"Alright," Azure decided. "But if we find where the ship landed, we're going in without you. I don't want to get anyone else involved."

The massive man led the way. As he reached the front of Twilight Crusade, Dustyn, Ezelia, and Kita noticed the black spider tattoo decorating the back of his bald head.

The forest darkened as it became thicker, the canopy of pine blotting out much of the Sun. Every few seconds, a bird or some other animal would call out from the underbrush, lending a hint of life to the otherwise barren woodland. Ember's fingers traced along the handle of her dagger, keeping it close. Her eyes flicked suspiciously to the branches above, and to the woman who walked beside her.

Kita's eyes narrowed, glancing above the group. Her pace slowed slightly. Alexandra took on a look of concern as her girlfriend donned her kitsune mask.

Ember suddenly turned on the balls of her feet, unsheathing a dagger and slashing at a bundle of cord that whizzed toward Azure. The network of steel cable caught on her blade, working its way around her arm and torso in half a second. As she thrashed, the woman to her side fired a second ball of cable at her ankles, securing her struggling form.

"Remember! Boss doesn't want a single mark on our objective!" the shorter man barked, unholstering a pistol and raising it next to his head. "Take as many of the other girls as you can!"

"Like hell you'll take us!" Azure protested. She connected the two halves of Moonbow, and fired a bolt of thunder dust his way. He took to the floor to dodge, and aimed his pistol toward Dustyn, who charged him. The gunshot was blocked by Boomstick's spinning blade.

Dustyn halted his weapon's spin, and crushed downward with an overhead swing. His foe dodged back, and Boomstick's blade sunk into the dirt. The man guarded with a bracer on one arm while he used the other to raise a whistle to his lips and blow.

"From the trees!" Kita warned.

With a sudden rustling of branches above, Twilight Crusade was outnumbered.

A dark skinned woman with a messy black ponytail and a pair of what looked like oversized barber razors lunged onto Pierce, who had run forward to Ember's side. Pierce dodged the woman's first two slashes, then blocked her third with Spade's tonfa form. Pierce brought Ace down toward his foe's shoulder, who blocked the attack with both blades raised in an X. Pierce punched at her stomach with Spade, but his attack was dodged. She swung around his blind side, leaping into the air and aiming a kick down.

Pierce's raccoon ears flicked to his attacker, and he used his semblance to dodge before lunging at his attacker once more. Two vicious tonfa strikes were dodged in the blink of an eye, and the woman swivelled on one foot to swing a roundhouse kick. Pierce blocked her steel-toed boot with Spade, then aimed Ace and fired. Before he could pull the trigger, she dodged left. The two traded swift slashes and jabs for the next several seconds, Pierce offering a handful of gunshots into the mix.

Another roundhouse kick blocked in the same manner. Pierce planted his injured ankle, gritting his teeth against the pain as he pivoted near the ground to sweep his opponent's leg from under her. She hopped into the air, causing Pierce to shout in pain as she landed on his weakened ankle. With her other leg, she spun to plant a kick into the side of Pierce's head. He fell to the ground, and the woman bore down on him, daggers at the ready.

Pierce's eyes flicked to the side and he glanced over his shoulder as he fell. His opponent sunk her blades into the dirt as Pierce disappeared into a black mist. He appeared behind her, depleting her aura and driving her into the ground with a brutal tonfa strike to the back.

Pierce kicked her shoulder to turn her over, then planted one foot on her wrist, the other on her chest. "Drop your blades or die. You have five seconds to decide," Pierce warned, holding Spade's tip at her throat.

Her hands slackened, and she dropped her weapons.

Four assailants honed in on Azure, batons sparking electricity. One stopped, and fired a bundle of steel cord from a pistol-like device. Azure shot it out of mid air, short-circuiting it with lightning dust. Alexandra ran toward the group that advanced on Azure, and held both hands out, raising a wall of stone between them and their target.

She felt a hard pellet strike her ankle. In less than a second, a light bundle of steel string webbed its way around her legs, securing them together to her thighs. In an attempt to wriggle free, she fell to the dirt. Another web of steel wrapped her torso.

The bear of a man stepped forward. Without a word, he picked Alexandra up by the arm, and slung her over his shoulder as she cried out for Kita.

Kita paused upon hearing her name, becoming locked with the blade of an attacker. "Alexandra!" she shouted. She freed Kenakuma, and charged forward at the massive man with Raven joining in. As he saw the two huntresses approaching, he dropped Alexandra to the dirt, and pulled a massive staff from his back, a crackling orb of thunder dust on one side caged in iron.

Raven slashed left, right, and left again, taking up the offensive as Kita ensured Alexandra's well being. All three attacks were blocked by the shaft of the man's staff, sending echoes of clashing steel into the forest. Raven's opponent turned around around to gain momentum, and swung his staff at Raven's knees. She jumped over the attack with a spin of her own, slamming her blade down into his staff once more. The two clashed several more times. Though Raven was dwarfed, she appeared to be an even match until they became locked, Raven's downward swing with the man's sideways block. He angled his staff to the side, freeing Raven's blade. He then thrust outward with the tip of his staff, sending her rigid with a shockwave of lightning dust.

He spun his staff as he turned, and smashed it into Raven's stomach, sending her flying backward into a boulder. As she heaved in an attempt to catch the breath that was knocked from her, she fell back to the ground, bundled in steel cords. Rusty ran to her side.

Kita looked up from Alexandra, and charged forward. Two sweeping slashes were blocked to the side by the man's staff. Kita slashed downward for her third strike, and was met with a horizontal block. Kenakuma's new eye lit up, and a searing beam of red energy blasted a hole in her opponent's armored cloak. He recoiled, and Kita sprung forward, but was met with a vicious strike in return, which she barely blocked. The man spun around to wind up another swinging attack, this one a bit higher. Kita thrust her head and chest back, feeling the wind ripple through her hair as she barely ducked under the swing. She looked up, to where the head of the man's staff bore down on her. In the blink of an eye, she dodged behind him, planted her feet, and tore her blade across his back.

The man with the dusty brown hair took Kita's distraction as an opportunity to approach Alexandra's bound form. "That crown you've got looks mighty expensive," he taunted. "Don't you worry, I'll take good care of it. And the men back in the Spider's Den will take good care of you."

With a grin, he lifted it off her head.

"Don't even think about it!" Alexandra screamed in protest. "You have _no idea_ what that means to me!"

"All the more reason to take it then," the man reasoned. His grin faded to a grimace of annoyance as the head of Child's Play flew in. He blocked it with his armguard, then hopped backward twice to dodge two additional lashes.

Rusty retracted Child's Play's cord, and caught the head as its blades folded in. The thief raised his net gun, and fired toward Rusty. At the same instant, Rusty flung Child's Play back at him. Child's Play caught the bundle of cord, and Rusty slammed it into his attacker, knocking the gun from his hand and binding him to the ground.

As Pierce began to fight the staff-wielding brute, Kita ran back to Alexandra. The net gun fell at her feet. Kita paused for a second, then picked the weapon up curiously. She figured she knew the trigger's function, yet she could not help but poke at a button on the handle's side.

All of the members of Twilight Crusade who had been bound were simultaneously freed. The net gun's owner leapt to his feet, and sprinted toward Kita. She nervously aimed the gun at him, and trapped him in a second web of cables. Kita dodged a net, that continued through the air to trap another of the assailants. She then fired at her attacker, the sandy-haired young woman at the village entrance. As Ember took up the second gun, Kita emptied the last three nets into the staff wielder. The ground shook as he fell.

Pierce pounced onto his back, using one hand to hold his head back, the other to raise a blade to his throat. "Tell your boss to expect me," he warned. "I'd like a refund."

 **Note: The man and woman of the "Spider Squad" were the two standing next to Lil' Miss Malachite in the episodes she appeared in RWBY. The big guy is just some guy I threw in that looks like Letho from the Witcher series.**


	63. V4: Nothing Left Unsaid

Twilight Crusade trekked back through the forest, toward the village and their airship. Luckily, no one had been seriously injured. Azure stayed out of harms' way, Raven had the wind knocked out of her and much of her aura depeted, but was otherwise fine. A break in the trees ahead, along with the bark-covered roof of a hut, let Azure know they were close.

Upon returning to Ranhana, Azure noticed a tuft of hair peeking up from the bottom of a window. A curious child's brown eyes looked to the group, then turned around, bobbing up and down excitedly. A woman, about thirty, Azure guessed, came to the window, and put her hand to her mouth with relief flooding her face. She walked out of the window's frame.

The door to the hut opened tentatively as Azure and the others approached. Little more than the woman's nose peeked out of the crack between door and frame. She watched the huntsmen draw closer.

"Who were those people?" Azure questioned, stopping several feet from the door.

"I don't know," the woman admitted. "...They came into our village yesterday evening, forced us inside with their weapons drawn, then told us to wait, and stay hidden." She took a deep breath. "We really thought we were going to die."

"It sounds like she's telling the truth," Pierce commented. "Plus, I wouldn't put a little stunt like this past them."

"S-Someone should call the police, o-or something," Raven added.

Azure nodded, and noticed several more doors opening, and a handful of fearful faces appearing in windows. "We took care of them, and we'll call someone to take them into custody. I just have one question. Other than ours and the one they flew in on, have you noticed any airships recently?"

The young child ran from the window and hugged his mother's leg. She took on an inquisitive look, rubbing her chin and looking to the ground. "Well, now that you mention it, one flew overhead a bit before dark, a few days ago."

Azure perked up. "Which direction was it heading? And how low was it?" She excitedly inquired.

"It was headed North, turning East. And it was low. Not like it was landing immediately, but most airships we see are lil' dots in the sky. This one was much lower."

Azure smiled and thanked the woman before returning to the airship. After calling Mistral's police force, they took to the sky once more, and flew Northeast. After an hour, the Sun had set. An hour more, and the forest below was shrouded in complete darkness. With those able to search the scenery restricted to Raven, Pierce, and Kita, Azure reluctantly decided to call it a night. Rusty looked up nearby villages on his scroll. Though the area was sparsely populated, a relatively large town with an inn was just a ten minute flight East.

"Five rooms, please. I'd prefer if they're close together, but we'll take whatever's open," Azure told the young woman at the inn's front desk.

"Five?" the receptionist repeated. "And this is for one night?"

Azure nodded. "Yeah. Five for one night," she confirmed.

The receptionist tapped away at her keyboard for several seconds, then gazed intently at her screen. Her eyes flicked upward to meet Azure's. "We have five available on the second floor, all next to each other."

"Perfect," Azure said. She handed her card, and the receptionist gave her and the rest of Twilight Crusade the typical spiel. Breakfast ends at nine, checkout at noon, and the pool closes at ten.

"Hey, do we really need five rooms?" Ezelia inquired, once the group had walked away from the front desk. "That has to be a _ton_ of money. We can cram ourselves into two, we do it all the time!"

Azure shook her head sadly. "...I wanted to give everyone the privacy they need. Once we find the Garnett's hideout, we're going in." She paused, letting out a sigh. "Vladimir is strong. Greyson, Ember and I could barely beat him at the Vytal festival, back before he'd taken any souls. He's _hundreds_ of times stronger now, and Midna is there as well." She paused, rubbing her neck and casting her gaze to the ground. "What we're about to do is hardly better than a suicide mission."

Silence overtook Twilight Crusade, the dimly lit ambience of the drab lobby seemingly blending with and personifying their mood.

"I wanted to give you guys privacy," Azure sadly insisted. "If there's something you wanted to get off your chest, do it now. It's better we leave nothing unsaid tonight."

Azure opened the door to her room, stepped in, plopped her bag onto the floor, and fell onto the bed. She lay for several seconds, making no sound, not moving a muscle. Everything in the hotel room, from the floral print wallpaper, to the bedcovers and curtains, was drab and dated, decorated in hues of red, orange, and yellow. A boxy television sat across from the bed, but Azure decided against watching anything. On the walls above and to the left of her, generic paintings of a barn were framed in garish gold.

Azure turned to sit on the edge of the bed, and opened her bag. On top of everything she packed, Blitz and Nimbus were sheathed; the only sign of Greyson Kita and Alexandra were able to retrieve. She grabbed his weapons, and put them in her lap. Her fingers ran over their handles and onto their blades as she examined their every detail, pausing for several seconds as she looked to the dust switch on the side of Blitz's handle. She sighed, and loaded a cartridge of her own dust into the weapon. She did the same with Nimbus.

After putting the weapons away, she rolled over onto her stomach again, finally kicking her boots off. She tapped at her scroll, bringing her father's picture to the screen, along with the "call" icon. She sighed and closed out, but opened it again after several seconds. She stared at the screen.

She closed her scroll, and set it face down as tears came to her eyes.

Rusty and Raven stacked their pillows up against the bed's backboard. Rusty sat against them, with one arm around Raven and the other holding his scroll up. His mother's face flashed onto the screen as the video call began.

"Did you win?!" Mrs. Braun asked, ecstatic to see her son, and Raven's head resting on his chest.

"Not yet," Rusty replied. "...We haven't found their place yet. Can you get dad on too? And Raven's mom?"

Rusty's mother called to her husband and Mrs. Corvis, and they soon joined her on screen. With a restrained smile, Raven waved.

"I just wanted to tell you guys, that I love you," Rusty said. "And Mrs. Corvis, thank you for being there for Raven when she needed it."

"Thank you for making my daughter happy," Raven's mother sincerely returned. "There were times I was afraid she would end up like me after her father passed, and she would stick with the first person to give her any kind of attention. I was afraid she would get hurt. But thank you. I can see how much she's changed, and it makes me so unbelievably happy."

"Hey, I didn't do all of it!" Rusty replied with a grin. "She changed herself, I was just here to help!"

"I-I love you, mom," Raven added. "And, I-I love you too, Mr. and Mrs. Braun."

"Hey, Rus?" Rusty's dad addressed. "...What brought this on?"

"Well..." Rusty began. He bit his lip. "We might not make it back to you."

The faces of all three adults dropped.

"W-We'll try our hardest!" Raven attempted to reassure. "W-We just wanted to be sure. B-But we'll be fine, I pro- I mean, we'll try."

After several minutes more, the call ended. Rusty looked to the picture on the screen, just above the words "call ended." His scroll faded to black.

"H-Hey, Rusty?" Raven said. "I-I love you. I really do. I still, I don't think I'll ever figure out what I did to deserve you. B-But thanks. For being with me."

Rusty hugged Raven tighter.

"I love you too."

"...They video called their parents, huh?" Ember commented, having heard much of the conversation from across the thin wall. "Neither of us have anyone left."

"We have each other."

Ember nodded. "If I were to choose anyone to be the only one by my side, it would be you," she stated, voice carrying an uncharacteristic sincerity. Her eyes shifted from a pair of frayed threads on the bedcover to Pierce, who sat on the edge of the bed, looking to the door. "Back in Hajimaru, I told you it wasn't the time. Did you actually have something to say? Or was it just the heat of the moment?"

"Do I seem like the type of person to say something dumb 'in the heat of the moment?'" Pierce hinted. "For the longest time, I had no idea what drew me to you. What had me thinking of you all the time we spent apart, hoping we'd be together again." He grit his teeth. "But I think... it's..."

"Love."

Pierce nodded.

Ember moved until she sat next to Pierce. Slowly, she lowered her head to his shoulder. "It's not something to be ashamed of," she assured. "Love isn't weakness. Look at the rest of our group. Greyson and Azure, Dustyn and Ezelia, Alexandra and Kita. Hell, even Rusty's strong with Raven."

"I... love you," Pierce managed.

"I love you too," Ember returned. She closed her eyes, taking in the moment with a deep breath.

"It's... sad, isn't it?" Dustyn commented, laying on the bed and looking to the ceiling. "Everyone's practically saying goodbye right now. We've _never_ done this before, not even when Azure and Raven were taken."

"I guess that's just how strong Vladimir is now, huh?" Ezelia replied. "It's weird, thinking that we might not even be around to see a bed this time tomorrow night. Or... nope. Nevermind."

"What were you going to say?" Dustyn inquired.

"...Well, there's the possibility we might lose a friend."

"Yeah," was all Dustyn managed. "I... I don't want to think about losing anyone. _Especially_ not you."

"Oh gosh, I can't even remember a time without you!" Ezelia returned. "I mean, I can because I was like fourteen, but it's hyperbole, you know?"

"Yeah. I know," Dustyn confirmed. He cracked a grin. "I sure am glad I decided to sit next to the weird lanky girl everyone picked on that one day. She turned out to be pretty cool."

"You sure have a way with words," Ezelia jested. She flopped backward onto the bed, crossing her arms behind her head. "Anyway, think anyone's down to hang out? We can't act like we've lost before we even tried to fight! Let's raise everyone's spirits a little! Invite them over!"

"...Maybe later. Let's give them some time."

Alexandra sat on the edge of the bed, absently flipping through television channels. The television just barely drowned out the sound of heavy rain falling heavily on the roof. She paid no mind to the sense of vague confusion and unease hotel television brought with its strangely blurry screen, differently-numbered channels, and prevalence of decades-old movies and soap operas. Even the channels she knew from Hajimaru seemed to play different shows at different times.

More immediate, unpleasant thoughts plagued her mind.

The bathroom sink shut off, and Kita stepped out in the hotel's complimentary bathrobe amid a cloud of steam. She folded her skirt and tanktop, placed them on top of her bag, then sat next to Alexandra.

"I can tell you are highly distressed," Kita commented, placing a hand on Alexandra's thigh. "Is there any way I may comfort you?"

"...Can we talk?" Alexandra asked, finally turning to her girlfriend.

Kita nodded once. "Yes. What is it you wish to talk about?"

"You've said in the past, that you've sworn your life to protecting Greyson and Azure, and that you wouldn't hesitate to put your life on the line for the others," Alexandra began. "I feel like you don't even care about dying, but I..." Alexandra's hand landed on Kita's, and she grasped it. Her catatonic posture and voice cracked all at once, exploding with emotion. "But I don't want to lose you! I've been alone for so long, and once we met, there were times I cried because of how badly I wanted to be with you! Now that I finally have the perfect girl, I... I don't want to be without her."

Kita tilted her head, and wiped a tear from Alexandra's cheek.

"Until I became close with you, I thought only of living and dying for the honor of the Great Shrouded Fox; and the oaths I had sworn in her name," Kita said. "Yet, you showed me something more. You showed me a life of joys and pleasures, and a life of love. I am willing to die for Greyson and Azure, but I want nothing more than to live for you."

A tear fell from Alexandra's cheek. She moved in toward Kita, but paused.

"Can... can I kiss you?" she asked.

Kita leaned in, closing her eyes, and Alexandra did the same. Their lips met. They pulled apart after several seconds, smiling as they gazed into each other's eyes. They kissed once more.

Morning rain pounded the ceiling, every now and then catching a gust of wind to pelt the window overlooking a bog next to the village. Kita gently rose, feeling the slight chill of air on her skin as the blankets fell to her waist. Her hair fell straight down, unruly frizz sticking out in several places. She looked to her side. Alexandra had fallen asleep on Kita's chest, but apparently had rolled over in the night. Kita rubbed her back, skin a warm shade similar to tanned leather. After several seconds, Alexandra made an incoherent noise, burying her head further into her pillow.

"My love, I am going to grab breakfast. Would you like anything?" Kita inquired softly.

"...Mmmmuff'n."

Kita smiled, and kissed Alexandra's cheek. Without a word to wake her partner, she donned her day clothes, and made her way down to breakfast.

The rest of the day was spent flying low, scanning the trees for anything out of the ordinary. Several hours passed. As the group rested until their noon checkout, the point of the evening had come where the Sun is low in the sky, which is not yet dark, but faded from its afternoon brightness.

"Whoa, what's that?!" Rusty exclaimed, pointing forward form his seat on the left side of the airship's cabin. The ship lurched slightly as Twilight Crusade piled up on one side to get a glimpse. A castle crafted from dark stone rose above the treeline, the spire at each corner impaling the black mist that seemingly coalesced above it. A swath of trees had been cut around the castle, but unlike the Garnetts' former mansion, there were no statues, hedges, or fountains.

All that decorated the grounds was an airship landing pad in front, a stone circle with an obsidian gemstone pattern.

"There's _no_ way that isn't it," Ember commented.

Azure nodded, then stood up straight to address the group.

"Everyone! This is it," she said. " _Today_ is the day we end the Church of Awakening's reign of terror! We get Greyson back! Fight to the last breath, kill or be killed!"

The airship began to descend as Twilight Crusade cheered.

 **Wow, the amount I listened to Crybaby from the Devilman Crybaby OST on loop while drafting this cannot be good for my well-being.**

 **So, this might be the last question I ask. What was your favorite pairing? Any one of the 5 canon ones? Something non-canon prompted by their interactions? Something way out of left field? Hit me with it.**


	64. V4: The Caged Ones

The airship touched down just past the treeline, behind and to the left of the Garnett Castle. The evening was frigid. Rain fell persistently, though it was just a few degrees from becoming snow. Between the canopy, the dark fog blanketing the area, and the setting Sun, the forest was nearly as dark as night. No sound came from the woods apart from the snapping of branches beneath the feet of the slowly approaching huntsmen.

Any lingering doubts in Twilight Crusade's mind about having found the Church of Awakening's stronghold faded as dozens of cloaked figures appeared at the edge of the forest, daggers gleaming in the moonlight.

Without a sound, they charged Twilight Crusade.

Azure dropped several to the forest floor with beams of dust that lit up the forest as they streaked toward their targets. She sidestepped a spear of ice, then separated the halves of Moonbow to block an incoming dagger. She pushed outward, then slashed once across her attacker's chest with each weapon.

Raven suppressed her semblance, instead keeping her attackers at bay with her shield and blade. One dagger strike was easily blocked, and she responded with a pair of slashes before shield-basing the cloaked figure into the dirt. She turned quickly to block a fireball hurled her way, then transformed her sword to its crossbow form to fire three bolts at her attacker. The head of Child's Play came in, wrapping around the waist of a cultist that bore down on Raven from the back. He pulled the assailant backward, into a vicious swing from Ezelia's Grimm Cat.

Kita, Ember, and Pierce had no issues against the cultists, the latter two depleting aura with thrown daggers, slashes, jabs, and gunshots; the former finishing each foe mercifully with a single slash across their body or neck.

Azure, Rusty, Raven, and Dustyn looked to the crumpled figures on the ground with a half-masked expression of regret and pity. Blood soaked deep into the forest floor as the huntsmen continued on.

"So, how are we getting in this time?" Ember asked, looking to the imposing wall of solid stone rising several stories into the sky. The few windows dotting the wall were far above. Pierce could reach them, maybe. Yet each one was barred with thick wrought iron, making each look like a jail cell and rendering entrance impossible. The stairs leading to the front door were out of the question.

"Well, the possibility of us sneaking in quietly is gone after that little scuffle," Alexandra noted. She raised a hand, and began to shift the stone in the wall. "Shall I?"

Azure nodded, and Alexandra ripped her hands past each other, blowing a hole in the side of the castle the Twilight Crusade could walk into, shoulder to shoulder. The gaping hole opened to a wide corridor, completely unlit.

"It's so dark in there," Rusty noted. "...Do you think anyone actually lives here?"

"Liiight!"the haggard voice of a woman called. "There's light!"

"Hello?!" Rusty shouted into the corridor. Ember furiously ripped him backward with a hand on his shoulder, putting her finger to her lips in a signal to stay silent.

"Someone, help us!" a man yelled from deep within, his words nearly obscured by their echo off the barren stone walls.

"This could be a trap," Pierce warned. "Be on guard, weapons at the ready."

Alexandra summoned a dancing ball of flame in her palm to light the way from Twilight Crusade as they piled in. They followed the unidentified woman's voice into a tighter hallway opposite the opening, before rounding a corner to come across a stone room crudely dug out from the corridor wall to their left. A wall of iron bars enclosed a cat faunus, about ten years older than the group of huntsmen. She had once been quite pretty, Azure thought, but her cheeks had sunken, dark bags sat under her dull eyes, and her orange hair looked as if it had not been washed in weeks.

"Are you alright? How did you get here?" Azure asked, leaning forward to grab the bars of her enclosure.

"I was abducted," the woman explained. "I was heading to my car, to pick my daughter up from a friend's house, and these people in cloaks surrounded me. I passed out, and I woke up here. I don't know how long has passed!"

"I'll get you out of here," Alexandra offered. She raised a hand toward the bars, and moved them to the side. As soon as the opening was big enough, the woman lunged out, wrapping the dust wielder in a hug. Alexandra noticed how emaciated the woman's frail frame was.

"There are others too," the woman said. "Two I know of for a fact, but I think a few more got stuck down here more recently."

Twilight Crusade continued down the maze-like stone hallways, freeing the trapped faunus. They found first a heavyset man with a wrinkled face and a rhinoceros horn on his nose, then a well-built young man with short brown hair and a pair of stag antlers, who insisted he help Twilight Crusade until they persuaded him to play it safe. They found a handful more faunus, before arriving at a grand staircase to a pair of iron cellar doors. There was one more room to the right of the stairs, from which a metronomic clanging noise echoed throughout the darkness.

The group approached cautiously, keeping to the opposite side of the hallway as they neared. The captive was nearly naked apart from scratchy rags caked with brown and red. Her tan skin had cracked in several places, the older wounds only partly healed. Her hair was wild and ragged, two black cat ears atop her head slanted back.

The noise heard from far down the hallway was her bloody fist repeatedly pounding into the iron bars.

"There's another!" Azure declared, running toward the trapped faunus who barely paid mind to the newcomers.

"She looks familiar," Ember noted, eyes narrowing. She shook her head. "I _know_ I've seen her before."

"We've fought before, Vytal tournament," the faunus explained. She pounded her fist into the metal once more, before Alexandra got to work removing the bars of her cage. "My name is Tigris. I was on Team GRNT."

"No way, he took you too?!" Azure responded. She looked to the ground, where a drop of blood had fallen from the girl's fist. Judging by the discolored stone, it was not the first. "Let me see your hand."

"I think I've been here the longest. I don't know how long that is, though." Tigris winced as Azure poured a clear liquid over her fingers, that bubbled at the wound. "I counted six others being hauled down here, so I think you've found all of them."

"I-I'll go back with them," Raven offered. "They're faunus, I-I feel like it's my duty."

Azure nodded, keeping her focus on the bandage she applied to Tigris's hand. "Take them to the airship, tell the pilot to fly them to that village we spent the night in." She opened her purse to present Raven with a pair of bills. "This should do. We'll wait here for you."

Raven took the bills, but shook her head. "D-Don't wait for me. W-We're running out of time to help Greyson, especially since they know we're here. I'll catch up, I promise!"

As Raven led the faunus away from the stairs, Twilight Crusade continued on. Alexandra burst through the heavy doors, and the group entered the next floor. It appeared to be one grand hall, with evenly-spaced pillars holding up arches about twenty feet from each side wall. The room was more lit than the floor below, rendered visible by torches on each pillar, and a great basin of flame on the far end. The basin sat between a pair of kneeling armored statues, seemingly guarding the twin stairways that twisted toward each other and out of sight behind the wall.

"No one's here?" Alexandra commented. "I seriously thought we'd be having a harder time than this!"

"This place gives me the creeps though," Rusty replied. "Feels like one of those big boss rooms in a video game..."

"Yeah. I'd be careful," Azure advised, eyeing the sculptures they walked toward. "Those things might-"

The armored statues rose, the empty gaps in their helmets silently eyeing the intruders.

" _Do_ come to life."

At once, the armored statues charged. Twilight Crusade scattered as their massive blades, at least half the height of their titanic owners, crushed down on them. The blades shook the ground as the vicious blows missed their targets.

"Azure! What _are_ those things?" Alexandra demanded.

"Arma Gigas! Possession-type grimm, inside an oversized suit of armor!" Azure explained. She drew Moonbow, and fired a volley of ice arrows into the ground in an attempt to slow the already clumsy attackers. "My family in Atlas uses these to train, I have _no idea_ how the Garnetts got their hands on them!"

Dustyn, Ezelia, Pierce and Alexandra scattered once again as the Arma Gigas that focused them slashed into the pillar they hid next to, sending chunks of stone flying to the far wall. Dustyn was first to attack, bringing Boomstick around in a circle to slash at its leg. His attack, along with his next two, connected but had little apparent effect. The Arma Gigas slashed downward, and at the suit's back, Ezelia responded with a blast from Grimm Cat. The iron golem recoiled, and Pierce grappled around a pillar to fling himself at its head.

"How the hell do we even hurt these things?" Pierce shouted. He grabbed the back of the Arma Gigas's helmet, and sunk Ace deep into the eye socket, feeling nothing but air. Still, the strange grimm pulled back, covering its face with its free arm. Pierce used his semblance to dodge an over-the-shoulder jab.

"We must attack the gaps in armor!" Kita commanded. She ran forward, ducking under a brutal swing from the Arma Gigas she fought with Azure, Rusty, and Ember. Sparks flew between Kenakuma and the grimm's blade as she thrust upward, redirecting the attack away from Azure and Rusty. She tore a shuriken from her belt, and flung it into a gap in the grimm's shoulder before spinning to slash into the suit's elbow.

"So _this_ is the reason it looked like a boss room!" Rusty exclaimed. "I feel like I'm in Murk Souls! I bet Raven's jealous!"

"I'd bet Raven would understand the severity of our situation!" Ember countered. She tumbled to avoid an overhead strike, then flung a dagger at her attacker, swearing as it bounced off the metallic plating.

"Okay, okay!" Rusty accepted. He flung Child's Play around the grimm's attacking arm, holding it in place just long enough for Azure to fire a trio of ice beams into its elbow. Alexandra widened her stance, holding out both arms to spread the ice up its arm to its shoulder. From the other side, Kita sprinted in and severed arm from body with a slash from Kenakuma.

She barely turned in time to dodge a punch thrown by the grimm. Ember hit the ground to duck under a slash, coming unexpectedly soon after the monster picked up its sword once more. Before she rolled out of the way of a second attack, she flung a dagger into the grimm swordsman's knee. As it stepped forward, Ember smirked with satisfaction. Its left leg buckled, falling apart at the knee. The creature hit the ground, laying before the huntsmen helplessly.

With a jab downward into the suit's head, Kita finished it off.

The room progressively darkened as Alexandra lobbed balls of fire off the wall-mounted torches and into the armor of the Arma Gigas, her friends meeting it with slashes to the legs and torso. After one especially well-aimed fireball, the grimm pulled back, arms shielding its face. Pierce's grappling cord connected to the back of its head. He shot forward, but was flung toward the ground as a metallic arm grabbed the cord and ripped toward the floor. Next was the grimm's sword, which Pierce dodged with his semblance.

The Arma Gigas ran under an archway and at Pierce, cornering the huntsman at the hall's right wall. Alexandra stood directly behind the oversized suit of armor, and ripped her hands past each other. Stone bars tore out of the pillars it stood between and through the gaps in the grimm's body, immobilising it.

It twitched in pain as Alexandra summoned a fireball from the two torches to each side of the monster, and held them in place inside its helmet. Ezelia shouted as she brought Grimm Cat across her body, cleaving armored legs from torso.

Meanwhile, Raven had worked her way back through the maze, and was just a few turns from the entrance. The faunus seemed to be holding up well, but something unnerved Raven. It had been quiet since Twilight Crusade entered. Too quiet. Every now and then, she would hear a noise from upstairs, but she expected far more security in the Garnetts' new hideout, especially since they knew Twilight Crusade was coming. She rounded the corner into the next hallway. It was wider than the others, at least a dozen feet to each side of her. She halted with left arm raised, signalling the faunus to stop.

A lone hooded figure was silhouetted against the moonlight, standing in the hole Twilight Crusade had used to enter. Dozens of black arms, darker than the hall around them, snaked their way out from the man's shadow as he tilted his head, standing rigidly still without a word.

Raven's wings manifested. "Ge-Get behind me," she commanded. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she felt the dark armor spread from her shoulder blades, across her chest and down each arm. It worked its way up her neck, forming a beak and covering both eyes. Her voice was twinged with distortion as she turned to utter her next words.

"... _Far_ behind me."


	65. V4: Moonlit Shadows

Greyson's back rose with each breath as he slumped over in the stone chair that had been his prison. He had lost track of time, figuring several days to have passed. He was forbidden sleep or food, the cloaked figure forcing a jug of water down his throat every morning and night the only thing keeping him alive.

He was imprisoned in a massive hall much like the one Raven had been previously. His throne sat on the edge of a circle that was raised above the rest of the marble floor several feet, and decorated with an ornate red gemstone pattern. The ceilings were high, the glass dome above his head adding at least twenty feet. The top of each pillar to the ceiling, the edge of each arch and the fringe at each corner were all coated gold, a reprieve from the choking black stone that enclosed the huntsman.

Vladimir and Midna Garnett stood before him. Behind their figures, a mass of cloaks in the countless rows of stone pews, seated as spectators. One more cloaked figure stood next to Greyson's seat.

The door at the far wall swung open, drawing the attention of much of the crowd. "Masters Garnett!" a cloaked man cried. "Huntsmen have infiltrated the basement!"

Without turning, Vladimir grimaced. He strode toward Greyson, and pulled his face up by his hair. "They're your dogs, aren't they?" he growled. "How did they find out where you are?!"

"They're my friends," Greyson bitterly responded. He cracked a sly grin. "And I didn't tell them, if that's what you're asking. I'm as impressed as you are."

Vladimir flung Greyson's head backward into the stone behind it, snapping his head forward with the brutal impact. Greyson hunched over once again, head spinning and throbbing with each pulsing heartbeat. He felt he would be sick.

"Mother, how many souls reside within you?"

"Nearly a thousand from my many years. Those I harvested from the North have brought me well above the number, perhaps even fifteen hundred. I've lost count." She sighed in irritation, pointing to the red, blistering burns marring the pale skin of her face. "I will need more to get rid of this travesty."

"Don't bother. Those souls would better serve me, would they not?"

Greyson's head snapped upward, eyes opening wide. Vladimir raised Crimson Rook.

"Vladimir!" Midna implored. "What- what are you doing?!"

"Goodbye, mother."

Vladimir pulled the trigger on his lance, sending thousands of volts of electricity through his mother's body. She seized up, then fell to the cold floor. Her screams of agony echoed off the stone walls as she writhed, foaming at the mouth and attempting vainly to claw her way upright.

"Master Garnett!" A cloaked man protested. He ran in, dagger at the ready. Vladimir turned, and sunk the spearlike tip of his weapon deep into his attacker's gut. He tilted his lance downward, and let the limp body fall to the floor. Blood saturated his cloak, and spread in a puddle around him.

Midna's furious scream turned Vladimir's attention back to her. He calmly raised his shield against her torrent of fire, before appearing from within it. His lance sunk deep into her chest.

Vladimir went rigid for several seconds, feeling the overwhelming, intoxicating force of over a thousand souls entering his body all at once. They worked their way from Midna's body, up Vladimir's lance and into his own veins, a stream of rainbow stolen from one host to a second.

"Now," Vladimir began. "If any others oppose me, you're welcome to join the souls within me." He turned to Greyson, the looked to the cloaked man at his side. "This one will be first, but wait until his ' _friends'_ arrive. We'll make his death a spectacle."

Raven stared down the cloaked man as jet black arms snaked their way into the hall's entrance, out of every darkened niche chipped out of the corridor wall, and from the man's elongated shadow. Raven turned her head to the side, noticing many being birthed from her own.

"Awakened One," the man addressed. His voice was frigid and sharp. "Your time has come. None of those you protect have proven worthy yet. _You_ must be our sacrifice."

"H-How many times do you have to fail, b-before you realize this is all a lie?" Raven retorted.

"Master Garnett already wields the power of thousands. Resistance will only bring your death. Surrender to us willingly, and we will at least make it painless."

"You can't kill me, then," Raven asserted. Her wings flapped once. "Th-That gives me an advantage."

"I cannot kill you, no," the cloaked man confirmed. "I can torment you to the brink of death, make you beg for it, but I cannot kill you."

Raven shot forward at her unarmed foe. He stood still until Raven was within striking range, then manifested a blade of shadow across his body to deflect her slash. She brought her blade over her right shoulder, then struck upward. Both attacks were blocked with ease. Raven flapped her wings once before striking down with both hands. The cloaked man moved, jumping backward to dodge the attack.

For the first time, he went on the offensive. Six arms of shadow joined together into a barbed spear of shadow, and shot toward the huntress. Her wings encased her body, protecting her from the attack.

"Now I see why Master Lucius had trouble with you, Awakened One. This is by far the most strength I've seen from one of your kind," the man complimented. Raven dashed to the left of her opponent, bringing her wing toward him to attack. It was wrapped up in countless arms of shadow, and Raven was flung to the far wall as the cloaked man stepped further into the hall. "This is the power that so brutally murdered my master. Yet you try to use it to protect? What stops you from turning on the awakened ones down the hall? All you desire in this form is to kill, after all. It is a manifestation of your darkest, most hidden sentiment."

" _I... I can't listen..._ " Raven thought to herself. She lunged forward, and traded several blows, wings sword and shield evenly matched with the arms of darkness. One bundle caught on her sword, and she strained with every ounce of her strength against its force before freeing her blade, spinning under another attack, and landing her first hit with an upward swing. Both wings came in to force the hooded figure to the ground.

"It makes sense you would want me dead," he taunted. "I was the one who abducted your father, after all. I remember his screeches of fear! His glorious laments, demanding I leave him be, that he had a family! Little did he know his daughter was a monster _far_ worse than him!"

A pulse of rage shot through Raven's veins. Her wings twitched, and her vision became obscured by encroaching darkness. " _No,_ " she thought. " _I... I can't let him get in my head!_ "

Raven slashed sideways to parry a whiplike cord of shadow. It flung back behind its wielder, then came straight down. Raven dodged to the side as the lashing attack shook the stone floor, then blocked with her shield as it came toward her. She blocked a second whip with her right wing, then jumped over the first as it flung around at knee level. Both bore down on her, and she raised both wings. Her knees nearly crumpled with the impact, but she forced her wings to unfold from her body in defiance, attacks dispelling as Raven's semblance lit the hallway an eerie blue, reaching its full span.

"You even led to my own son's death," the cloak continued. "He was planted into Beacon as a spy, to keep an eye on Ms. Ozeen. Little did we know he would rebel. In his twisted mind, the only form of rebellion was killing her himself." He let fly a storm of black spears, to which Raven raised her shield and wings. One found its way through to her stomach, and she was thrown backward, tumbling painfully on the stone ground.

"If not for his attempts on your life, and the life of Ms. Ozeen, he would be alive!"

"Th-That was his choice!" Raven protested. "A-And it was your cult's choice to kill him for it!"

The cloaked man screamed in fury, and raised both arms at his sides. A swarm of arms shot down the hall, in the direction of the imprisoned faunus. Raven shot forward, gliding on her wings before closing her beak on the cloaked figure's arm, and flinging him into the grass outside. He rolled for several seconds, before halting his momentum and propping himself upright with arms of shadow. He shot them forward, and Raven fought against them. The first was split with her sword, the next two blocked with her shield. She bit down on the last one with her beak, and ripped its owner toward her. She thrust outward with her shield, slamming him to the ground.

With her beak dissolving around her face and her eyes ceasing to glow, she pointed her blade to the cloaked man's throat.

Her brief victory was shattered by a dozen arms binding her legs. She was lifted by her ankles, and thrust into the black stone of the Garnett Castle. The sound of scraping metal filled the night sky as Raven was forced up the wall. Two more blades of shadow pierced her shoulder pads, securing Raven to the wall dozens of feet up.

The masked man strode into the basement, arms of shadow snaking their way into the darkness.

" _One more time, please,_ " Raven thought. " _If I can just get my semblance, one more time..._ "

A plume of fog shot out from the wall as Raven's wings freed her. She planted her foot on the wall, then shot downward toward the man with a furious yell. He crossed seven shadow arms above his head in an attempt to block her attack.

He gasped as he looked up. Raven's beak had pierced through, and a pair of glowing eyes bore down on him.

The colossal stone doors to the room containing Greyson, Vladimir, and the horde of cloaked figures swung open. Azure's eyes widened. On the stage opposite them, Greyson was bound in heavy chains. His head was cocked to the side, revealing the nose tied around it, secured above to an ornate gallows, black wrought iron with accents of gold and red.

Vladimir grinned as he pulled a lever to the side. Azure drew Moonbow, and prayed her shot struck true.


	66. V4: The Impaler

As Greyson fell, Azure planted her feet and pulled Moonbow to a full draw. Her shot flew through the hall, straight down the middle of the church corridor between the rows of pointed hoods.

Azure's shot struck the rope between Greyson and the gallows, that had just begun to go taut. Greyson landed on the stone floor, bound but alive.

Smoke filled the stage near Greyson as the room broke out into a panicked, confused, clamor. Pierce grappled between the pillars of stone, appearing at Greyson's side. He lifted Ace to the rope at Greyson's neck, and freed him.

"How'd you guys find me?!" Greyson questioned, relieved grin painting his face.

"An information broker that ended up turning on us," Pierce recalled, Moving Ace's blade to the chains binding Greyson's arms to torso. He swore as his weapon glanced past the metal, leaving no more than a scratch.

"Yo! Need some help!?" Rusty's voice called. He appeared in the fog behind Pierce. He ran up to Greyson, and instantly planted his hands on the chains. Thick steam rose from their contact, momentarily intensifying the thinning haze. As Greyson spread his arms out, casting his chains to the floor with a satisfying clank, Rusty got to work on the ones around his ankles.

Pierce presented Greyson with Blitz and Nimbus. "Here. Azure told me she reloaded them, but don't fight too hard. To be frank, you look like shit."

"Thanks," Greyson returned. He felt the familiar, comforting shape of his weapons' handles in his palms. THe smoke began to clear. Standing just behind the furthest row of pews was Azure, Moonbow held toward the ground, but drawn and ready to fire.

"Everyone here against your will!" Azure shouted. Her voice was magnified by its echoes off the stone walls. "This is your last chance to surrender peacefully! We have people among us who will _not_ hesitate to kill you!"

Alexandra turned, and blew a hole in the wall at the corner closest to the group. "Leave through here!" she commanded. A handful of hooded figures jumped from the crowd that had begun to jostle about, and made for the door. Alexandra stopped the one closest to her.

"Where's Midna Garnett?" she asked.

"She's... she's dead," the hooded figure answered.

Alexandra's face lost all trace of emotion. "She's dead..." she reflected. She raised both hands to her head, and lifted Crown Jewel from it, holding it out just below her chin.

" _...She's dead_."

Vladimir watched in disgust as more robed figures made for the hole in the wall. "No, no," he said. "...That won't do. That won't do at all."

In half a second, tendrils of shadow webbed across the room, sealing the exit shut. Several sprung out from the blockade, wrapping the writhing, struggling forms of the fleeing cultists until a pulse of seemingly random color shot from their body, and their bodies ceased movement. The pulses of aura ran down the length of the tendril before entering Vladimir.

Hundreds of tendrils snaked along the walls and floor, coating them in choking blackness. One by one, the remaining Church of Awakening cultists fell, their auras absorbed by the man they revered.

Pierce swore as he felt one tendril wrap around his ankle. He used his semblance to break free and appear several feet above. He grappled to a pillar just past Vladimir, but was caught in midair by a net of darkness. His blade tore through several, but more tendrils joined in. A pulse of green flowed from Pierce's still form to Vladimir, and he fell to the floor.

"No! Nononono- NO!" Rusty protested. A tendril tripped him up, but he fought his way back to his feet. He panted as he sprinted toward the doors for several steps. Halfway to the door, he was tugged backward by a black coil that had worked its way around his arm. He fell to the ground, and his aura left with a reddish-brown pulse as tendrils covered him like a thicket of malevolent roots.

Dustyn and Ezelia stood back to back, fighting off the encroaching arms of darkness. After spinning to slash one away, Dustyn's arm was caught. "Help!" he called. Ezelia turned around, and shouted as she cleaved the snakelike shadow in two.

All at once, dozens of tendrils came in from their backs, binding arms to torso and ankles together. They fell next to each other, and watched in horror as the auras left each others' body.

Kita stood to the back of Alexandra, swiping Kenakuma at the tendrils that approached the dust wielder's body. Flames spurted from Alexandra's palms, driving back the darkness.

One shadowy arm worked its way between the two huntresses. It wrapped around Alexandra's leg, twitching to the left when she attempted to drive a stone spike through it. Several more took her second of distraction to wrap around her torso and neck. She fell to the ground, and Kita fell on top of her, distraught screams for her girlfriend muffled by her mask. Twin pulses of black and purple fed the tendrils.

Greyson looked around, face painted with a look of abject horror. In a handful of seconds, the room had gone eerily still. His friends lay lifeless on the ground, amid a pile of cultist bodies.

"Greyson!" Azure shouted. She ran toward him, arm reaching for him.

Just before the two met, a bundle of tendrils worked its way around her torso, wrenching her away. Greyson lunged forward, clasping her outstretched hand in his own. He pulled toward her, and met her in a tight embrace.

He felt her body go rigid as a surge of blue worked its way toward Vladimir.

"You. WHAT THE _HELL_ DID YOU DO TO THEM?!" Greyson screamed. He turned, unsheathing both weapons. He unfolded Nimbus into its shotgun form, and aimed it at his enemy's head. He held Blitz in a reverse grip at his hip, behind his back.

"Their bodies live, for now," Vladimir explained. "I have taken their souls into my body." He raised his shield, and held Crimson Rook at the ready. "So they can watch your annihilation... _through my eyes._ "

The two huntsmen stared each other down, the room dead silent. Dead still, apart from the remnants of flame from Alexandra, smoldering on the cloaks of several cultists. Some indescribable feeling tugging at the back of Greyson's mind knew. This was the fight he had trained for. After all the times he had fought within an inch of his life, an air of finality hung about the room.

No matter how long the fight lasted, ten seconds, five minutes, an hour; Greyson knew only one of the two men standing would be alive by the end.

Greyson folded Nimbus back into sword form, and charged.

He swung first over his head with Nimbus, which was blocked by Vladimir's lance. As his weapon jerked back from the impact, he planted his feet and pivoted, bringing Blitz across his body. The attack was blocked easily by Vladimir's shield, and Greyson sidestepped an incoming lance jab. He fired a bolt of lighting from Blitz, before charging in once more.

He led with a full assault into Vladimir's shield, a swarm of vicious slashes sending sparks into the air and the sound of metallic clashes throughout the room. Vladimir pushed outward and struck with his lance, and Greyson spun around it, now at his opponent's back.

" _One, two-_ " Greyson counted with each slash. Just after his second, Vladimir turned and struck outward, the tip of his lance narrowly missing its target.

" _When I fought him the first time, I could land four hits! Is he really twice as fast?_ " Greyson pondered. " _No. I'm faster too, that's for sure. He's more than twice as fast._ "

Greyson hacked at Vladimir with Nimbus, before reversing his weapon then repeating the same pair of attacks. All four were easily blocked, as was Greyson's downward strike with both swords. Vladimir's head ducked to the side as Greyson fired off a shotgun blast from one. Greyson freed his weapons and ducked to the ground, spinning to slash with both weapons at his opponent's legs. His attack was blocked by Vladimir's shield, and he delivered a powerful kick to Greyson's gut. Greyson tumbled across the stone floor, before stopping feet short of Azure's body.

"After I've killed you, what do you think?" Vladimir taunted. "Do I return Azure's soul to her body, or use her like a doll? Really, all the young women of Twilight Crusade would be suitable."

"All I'm hearing is that you want to be castrated before you die," Greyson snapped. He ran forward once more. Two furious slashes were parried, before Greyson sidestepped a vicious thrust. He spun on the balls of his feet, delivering a flurry of slashes behind Vladimir's back. He crossed his weapons, bracing himself against a thrust from Vladimir's colossal shield.

Vladimir pushed out, and met Greyson with an upward swing from the tip of his lance. Greyson grit his teeth as the weapon tore across his body from hip to shoulder, leaving his aura dangerously low. He hit the ground as a grenade flew at him, and rolled out of the way of a jab strong enough to impale the floor. Chunks of marble flung into the air as Vladimir raised his lance, preventing one of Greyson's attacks before blocking the next with his shield. His lance came toward Greyson from the left, and he blocked across his body with Nimbus before parrying the strike above his head, and spinning to slash at Vladmir's neck.

The armored huntsman ducked, and punched at Greyson's throat with a thrust from his lance. Greyson ducked slightly to the side, raising his weapon to his neck. A cacophony of scraping metal filled Greyson's ears as the lance was diverted half an inch from certain death. He dispelled the attack to his side and struck downward, his attack thrown back by Vladimir's shield. Vladimir kicked him to the floor, and pointed the tip of Crimson Rook to his foe.

Suddenly, an ear-shattering screech sent chills down both huntsmen's spines. Standing in the hole created by Alexandra was what looked like a nevermore. Yet, its wings were translucent, blackness glowing a shade of purplish blue. Its two eyes shone like twin blacklights.

The winged form shot forward, soaring above the bodies of the cultists and Twilight Crusade alike. It corkscrewed as it neared Vladimir, ramming into his shield beak first, puncturing a hole the size of a softball before flinging him to the back wall.

Greyson raised both weapons as shotguns toward Vladimir. He cast a cautious glance to the side at Raven, and aimed one her way.

"It's me! I-I have control!" she assured.

Greyson cracked a grin and aimed both guns at Vladimir. "Good to have you. I was wondering where you had gone."

"Wh-What happened to everyone else?!" Raven questioned.

"They had their auras stolen. Let's get them back," Greyson answered.

Raven shot toward Vladimir with wings outstretched. He was nearly knocked off balance after intercepting the huntress's semblance with his shield, and Greyson took the chance to plunge Blitz into his back and tear. Multicolor waves of aura rippled across Vladimir as he screamed in pain. As Greyson planted on his feet and began to reverse direction, Vladimir regained his composure. He spread his arms, blocking Greyson's slash with his lance, and Raven's with his shield.

The ground beneath Greyson's feet erupted as Vladimir sent a grenade blast into it. His back slammed on the cold stone floor and he arched it, gasping for breath. Vladimir used the explosion to propel himself into Raven. She yelped with pain as Vladimir crushed her into a black pillar with his shield. Countless arms of shadow enclosed her.

Vladimir turned back to Greyson, who staggered to his feet. Greyson dodged to the side of a charging lance thrust, and jumped into the air with a spin, swinging both Blitz and Nimbus at Vladimir's neck. The attack was blocked by Vladimir's shield. Before Greyson could react, Vladimir had abandoned his lance, and punched Greyson across the jaw.

The grey-haired huntsman's head spun, but he remained on his feet. Vladimir had his lance once more, and sent a bolt of red lightning his way. Greyson held his weapons steady in an X at neck level, finger on the lightning dust switch. He could feel the heat on his face from the arches of electricity dancing off his weapons. He could hear the crackling, and feel the vibrations coursing through his handles.

He saw Raven's wings unfold, and her eyes flash.

Raven lunged at Vladimir once more. He turned, electricity still flying wildly from the tip of his weapon. It bounced from the walls where it connected, leaving a burnt black streak. The attack never made it to Raven, who slammed into his shield and knocked him near Greyson, who met him with a pair of slashes.

Vladimir fought the two huntsmen for half a minute, spinning on the balls of his feet to block, parry, and strike his two aggressors. Raven would strike, and Vladimir would block. Greyson would come in with a string of his own attacks, which Vladimir spun to block as well, sending a lance thrust Raven's way.

In a break from his exhaustive battle, Vladimir backed off as the two attacked simultaneously. Greyson pulled a slash to avoid Raven, who lowered her weapon. Vladimir swung Crimson Rook to the top of his shield, and let fly a grenade. Raven leapt forward with semblance activated, and was swallowed in a plume of flame as a deafening explosion rocked the room.

"Raven! You okay?!" Greyson shouted.

Her beak, and much of the armor encasing her upper body, had faded away. A violet hue rippled across her wings, and black aura crackled around her body, yet she still stood. "I-I'm fine," she assured.

Flashing a malicious grin, Vladimir aimed Crimson Rook down the hall, several feet to the right of Greyson's position. He let fly a single grenade at Azure's crumpled form.

" _ **NO!**_ " Greyson screamed in horror.

The room suddenly moved in slow motion for Raven. She ran forward with weapons drawn, but could do nothing. Greyson leapt into the air, cleaving downward with Nimbus. A fiery blast overtook him for a split second, and he was flung backward to Vladimir's feet, Blitz and Nimbus flying deep into the crowd of hoods. Waves of grey rippled around his form as he lifted himself slowly. He managed a knee on the ground, and fought to plant the sole of his shoe.

Vladimir sunk his lance through Greyson's back, until the bloody tip scratched the ground in front of him.

Raven's gutwrenching scream, a mixture of fear and disgust, permeated the halls. Greyson was silent. His eyes had gone wide, entire upper body pulsing in waves of incomprehensible agony. He sputtered for the breaths he knew were his last. He tasted blood, and felt a warm liquid dribbling from his mouth, onto his chin.

His vision blurred, whether by tears or otherwise he could not know. He looked down. Vladimir's lance had pierced his back and exited his stomach at navel level, barely to the right of center. Blood had already saturated his sweatshirt near the wound, and leaked to the stone floor in a constant stream. Even more followed the conical lance and pooled on the ground around the tip.

The pain was excruciating, radiating from his gut into his chest, where it seized his heart. He felt it with each throbbing heartbeat in his head, and down both arms.

Yet, below his waist, he felt nothing.

Raven had fallen to her knees, eyes clamped shut and covered by her hands. Tears leaked from between her fingers.

"Your friends watch through my eyes now," Vladimir reminded snidely, lifting Greyson's impaled body up and back, until their faces were side by side. He grinned. "Is there anything you would like to say to them?"

"Ev- Every... one," he managed, quivering voice coming between ragged gasps for air. "Keep... fighti-"

"TOO LATE!"

Greyson's body went rigid as electricity sparked around Vladimir's lance. After several seconds, he switched it off, and Greyson's limp body slumped forward.

Vladimir tilted his lance down, letting Greyson's body fall to the floor. The fire on the ground near him, reflected in his glassy, dull, eyes, flickered and died.

 **I'm, uhh... I'm sorry I had to drop this chapter on you guys on Christmas Eve.**

 **But uhh, merry Christmas!**


	67. V4: The Last Goodbye

All at once, the bodies of Twilight Crusade reanimated. Azure crawled up from where she lay and pounced onto Greyson's body, screaming in anguish. She lifted his shirt with shaking hands to examine his wound, but covered it up instantly after. She propped his torso up onto her lap, and she placed two fingers to his throat, his head rolling with each movement.

There was no heartbeat.

Kita and Alexandra knelt next to each other. Kita had taken off her mask, and the beginnings of tears had begun to form in her eyes, face painted with a mixture of sadness, horror, and shame. Rusty consoled Raven, the only one to have seen Greyson's death directly. Yet he himself looked as if he would be sick.

"Your precious leader's met his fate," Vladimir taunted. "Is this how it ends for Twilight Crusade? One final failure?"

Pierce stood up, cracking his neck. He held Ace and Spade at the ready. "Cocky, are we?" he returned. "You've killed one of us, sure. But your dumb ass just returned the souls of eight others, and pissed them off while you were at it." He transformed his weapons to sword form, and a glimmer of flame reflected in his blades. ". _..Prepare to die._ "

Pierce sprinted toward Vladimir, disappearing over the huntsman's thrust. Pierce shouted as he spun in midair, bringing both blades down on Vladimir's neck like a guillotine. Three ripples of aura, all of different color, permeated from the attack before Pierce blinked to Vladimir's other side and slashed, before reversing direction and striking again. His head cracked backward as Vladimir's shield came around with unexpected speed. Pierce was forced to the ground, and he flipped backward to avoid a lance strike.

Ember was next, but her daggers had more trouble finding their mark. Each one thrown was blocked, and each slash brought her dangerously close to Vladimir's blood-tipped spear. After several seconds, she pulled back to allow Alexandra space.

The dust wielder flung a torrent of fire into Vladimir's shield, which glowed red as he blocked the onslaught. He shouted in pain as Alexandra wrenched her second hand forward, summoning a spike of stone from the ground. It dug into his gut and forced him back. He looked over his shoulder.

" **Aku no hakai!** " Kita shouted, her voice echoing across the room with an uncanny, supernatural force. Kenakuma shone a blood red, and Kita brought the weapon from near her sheath to over her right shoulder in one sweep.

Vladimir screamed in pain as her weapon connected his back, but gained his composure almost instantly. He turned on his heel as half a dozen waves of aura rippled across his body, and plunged his lance into her. His blow connected, and Alexandra shouted for Kita as the huntress rolled across the ground, waves of black static making their way around her body.

Greyson felt nothing.

He floated in an indescribable nothingness. He knew his eyes were open, but saw nothing, not even the rest of his body. All was black- no. A deep, deep, grey. It was warm, Greyson decided. Exactly the warmth of the rest of his body.

He was content. Of course he wished to see Azure again, see his friends. But, it was fine. He would wait for them.

Greyson began to feet a pressure at his back. "It... ime... ake up," he heard a woman's voice say gently, her words fading in and out of his ears.

". _..It's time to wake up_ ," the woman repeated.

Greyson closed his eyes once, then opened them to an entirely new scene. A light breeze brushed his skin, a sweet scent carried on it. He lay in a grassy field, the gentle hills rolling as far beyond him as he could see. Every foot or so was a large flower, its grey petals facing the white sky above.

A woman knelt to his right. Her fair skin seemed to glow in the daylight. She had blue eyes, and matching blue hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back.

"L... Lazula?" Greyson inquired.

The girl nodded, a smile on her face. She looked exactly as he remembered, but as if she had aged alongside him.

"Then am I... dead?"

"I can't deny you are."

"Oh."

"Come on," Lazula said. "There are a few things I want to show you."

Greyson was suddenly transported to a position above the battlefield. He saw his own body, laying next to Azure in an expanding pool of blood. Dustyn and Ezelia charged in tandem, trading several blows with Vladimir before backing off to allow Alexandra space for an assault of stone spires. Ducking under Vladimir's vision, Rusty popped up at his shield, and planted both hands on it. A thick steam arose as much of its upper half corroded, sizzling as the solid metal flaked away in layers of brown.

"Damn you!" Vladimir screamed. He raised his lance to his shield and electrified it. Electricity coursed through Rusty's body and he seized up, before being launched back by his shield.

Azure stood for the first time. She became coated in blue as she lined up a single beam. The blue beam, several inches wide and gleaming in the darkness, shot toward its target. Vladimir grinned as he raised his shield, but his head snapped backward. The shot had pierced the section Rusty corroded, and entered the right side of Vladimir's forehead.

Blood spurted from the wound as Vladimir chuckled. His back had arched backward , but he corrected his posture until he stood upright. Everything above his right eye had been shredded away by Azure's attack, yet Vladimir's eerie chuckle erupted into a crazed yelling laugh.

" _That,_ my love..." he began. Aura rippled around the gruesome wound. Orange, yellow, mauve, black, three different shades of blue and two of purple, green, reddish, a shade of off-white, then finally grey. Vladimir's brown hair had gone, and as his flesh and bone knitted forward, it was replaced with storm grey and slightly fairer skin.

"...Is going to take a lot of souls to heal!"

"What the _hell_?!" Ember shouted.

"H-He's a monster..." Raven marvelled.

"Let's see how you fight, my love..." he pointed to the newly healed corner of his face. " _...Against your own beloved boyfriend!_ "

The scene faded, and Greyson once again sat with Lazula in the field of flowers.

"You really are lucky," Lazula asserted. "To have someone like Azure, that is." She flashed a sly grin. "I've been watching your life, as a spectator of sorts. She's a keeper." She picked a flower from next to her, and twirled its stem between finger and thumb, spinning the storm grey petals. "Let's revisit some memories that I thought you may want to see once more."

Greyson followed himself through the Emerald forest, feeling the warm, humid air against his skin. However, he fazed through the branches of trees and lashing brambles his past body tore through. The past Greyson, much skinnier, fresher-faced with a weaker jawline, finally broke out into a clearing. He killed the ursa that bore down on Azure, then turned to face her after several seconds.

Greyson saw Azure's bright smile once more.

Next, Lancer's Ridge. He stood next to himself, noticing in embarrassment that his hair was even more unruly that day than usual. He cringed at his own awkwardness, and thanked the fact that Azure found his near inability to speak to her endearing. That evening, as the two gazed into the sunset over Vale, she had agreed to be his date to the Vytal Tournament dance.

Then, a week after the dance. He and Azure cuddled under a blanket, spending night watch together on their mission. The night sky was painted with stars, and the two looked more to them and each other than the forest around them.

"That was the night I knew that I loved her," Greyson recalled. He smiled with nostalgia. "...And the night she told me she loved me."

"That was also the night I had to tell you I was fine with you dating other people," Lazula teased. "I didn't even know if you could hear me, but I guess you did." She turned to Greyson. "There was one other time I had to prod you along."

Greyson's past self was slammed to the concrete wall of a dingy building in downtown Vale. He bled more than he knew possible at the time; from mouth, nose, ears, and the countless blunt strikes and slashes Dunder had tortured him with. His body's eyes closed, and his head slumped.

After several seconds, his head lifted. His eyes glowed an ardent green, and his body was cloaked in a grey fire.

"The aural intervention," Greyson commented. "Still baffles me how I woke up that next morning, completely unscathed."

"You have a lot of aura," Lazula replied. "When I died, I became part of you. I had some aura to spare as well."

"I'd nearly forgotten I've died before," Greyson noted, voice carrying a surprising level of calm. He shook his head, disgusted with himself. "I gave up then. I hadn't even started my real adventure at that point."

"You've come along way," Lazula agreed. "Come on, there's more you need to see."

Lazula treated him to what felt like a movie of his life's important points. He watched much of the battle of Beacon's fall, when he had once again nearly been driven to give up. Then, the formation of Twilight Crusade. From there was his team's many battles; successes and failures. He saw his times of sorrow and times of joy, gathered around with all his friends and laughing until his abs hurt. He watched himself at Lazula's grave, Azure suggesting the name for their daughter. Lazula avoided when the two had reached their breaking point, but Greyson watched as the pair made up after the first major clash with the Church of Awakening, at the Garnetts' former residence.

Greyson was nearly driven to tears. Until then he had felt content with his death. The grey void and field of flowers carrying an overwhelming peace. Yet, he wanted to be with his friends once more. He wanted to laugh, to see Azure's smile, to be driven into a corner and fight his way out alive.

"There's one more thing I wanted to show you," Lazula said, the edges of her lips pulling into a smile once more.

Before Greyson could reply, he was transported to the living room of an upscale manor. A massive tree adorned with ornaments and sheltering a metropolis of colorfully-wrapped boxes sat in one corner, a roaring fireplace on the opposite wall. Among the two plush couches in the living room, four hazy figures lounged around. They were human shape, but details were impossible to make out. One more, with what looked like a bushy ponytail, leaned on the grand piano next to the fireplace.

A boy sat at the piano. His features were clear, unlike the rest. His hair was unusual. Dark blue grew out from the crown of his head, running in streaks through the silver that fell in shaggy layers, reaching about the same length as Greyson's. His face was rather soft and juvenile for his age, which Greyson judged to be about the same as when he had first enrolled in Beacon. He had two large, innocent-looking blue eyes, which sat behind a pair of glasses resting upon the bridge of his button nose. Whether by the music and company of friends or by nature, his mouth was drawn into a content smile.

The boy finished the last notes of his song and stood up, giving a word aside to the female form near the piano before walking over to one of the couches. Once he stood, Greyson could see the boy wore a vehemently lurid Christmas sweater, bright red stomach and chest stitched to a pair of sickly green sleeves. On the front, a felt Christmas tree with bells of red and green that hung from the fabric and jungled with each step. Completing the look were the sweater's rugged leather elbow pads and matching collar and sleeve cuffs.

He sat next to a girl, the only other person in the room whose features Greyson could make out. Her shining electric blue hair fell in waves around her shoulders and down her back. She looked much like Lazula, yet a little like Greyson as well. She shared his sharp jawline, pronounced eyebrows and long, straight nose, but she was still decidedly feminine. Her eyes matched her hair, and eternally carried a look of cold determination inside of them, outlined by black mascara.

She said something aside to the boy, who suddenly threw his head back in a fit of laughter. He replied with a grin, and she laughed as well, though more subdued.

Greyson looked at the two. He felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity, but knew he had never seen the pair in his life. He turned to Lazula. "Who are these two? I feel like I know them..." he asked.

"They're the twins you were to have with Azure," Lazula stated. "The boy's name is Caspian. He has a very kind heart, but he's far too hard on himself, even to the point of him doubting his own sense of self. At this point in his life, there's a lot he's figuring out. You and Azure decided to name the girl after me; how sweet. Lazula is the top student in her grade, and has basically become a celebrity, like Pyrrha was back at Beacon. She's exceptionally ambitious, brave, and confident. However, she can be stubborn, even a little pushy at times. Some would go so far as to call her arrogant. The only way through an obstacle that she knows is cutting it down. I guess a little part of your personality leaked into both of them."

"But... why are you showing me this?" Greyson asked sadly. "Even if my friends win tonight, I'm dead. I can't go back to them."

The vision of the Christmas party faded, and Greyson once again sat next to Lazula in the field of grey flowers.

"I showed you your aural intervention for a reason," Lazula hinted.

Greyson started with hopeful surprise. He pulled back a bit, once again troubled. "But, aural interventions only ever happen once. Even then, people rarely survive their first one. Surviving a second one is unheard of!"

"You never seemed like the type to give up when the odds were against you," Lazula challenged. "Especially when it meant sacrificing a future with Azure."

"Are... are you saying there's a chance for me still?"

"I'm still here, which means it _can_ be done."

Greyson's face lit up. Instinctively, he grabbed for Blitz and Nimbus, but his fingers passed through air. "How do we do this?" he asked.

"I'll handle it. You just have to beat Vladimir," Lazula responded.

Greyson sighed. "Easier said than done," he admitted.

"Our aura has merged with Vladimir's, so technically we're inside him right now," Lazula began. "When your aura is returned, I'll stay here. I'll make sure all the souls of those who are still living get returned."

"My family," Greyson excitedly deduced. "And the rest of Hajimaru!

Lazula nodded. "But, I'll be moving on," she stated. She sighed, wiping away an ephemeral tear. She met Greyson's eyes. "This is our last goodbye."

"I'm glad I got to say it this time," Greyson replied. He moved forward, and wrapped Lazula in a tight embrace. "Goodbye, Lazula."

"Goodbye."

Greyson pulled away slightly, watching Lazula dissipated in his arms. Her body dissolved into hundreds of glimmering blue embers on the wind, staring in her legs and arms. The final thing Greyson saw was her last smile.

Greyson stood alone. Starting from his feet, the field of flowers before him bloomed much thicker than before, all in one instant. The grey flowers remained, but were surrounded by flowers with petals of azure blue, a rusty reddish brown, dark red, black, green, brown, pink, and purple. The sky flushed a deep blue.

Ember tumbled across the stone floor, the result of a bash from Vladimir's shield. She grit her teeth as she worked her way back to a stand on shaky legs. She did a double take at Greyson's body.

He was coated in grey flame, and had worked his way to a kneel. The flesh around his wound pulled forward and knit itself together, as visible though the bloody hole in his sweatshirt. Incredulous grin on her face, Ember helped him to his feet.

"Greyson?!" Azure ecstatically shouted.

"No way!" Rusty added.

"H-He's back?!" Raven questioned in disbelief.

The revived huntsman stood up straight, eyes to the ceiling. Vladimir paused, shocked as anyone else. Finally, Greyson unsheathed Blitz and Nimbus, and stared his foe down with glowing green eyes.

Vladimir shouted in agony, twitching and writhing where he stood as a fountain of rainbow tore itself from his body. Many settled in the cultists crowding the battlefield, and more; _thousands_ more, shot straight to the sky, punching a hole in the glass dome above.

"How does it feel?" Greyson questioned. "To have the souls you've taken away, ripped from your body one at a time? You're finished. Without those souls you're nothing more than a man."

Amid the hail of broken glass, Vladimir's screams of pain transitioned into vicious laughter. "You think you've won?" he spat. "Whatever you did, those are only the souls of the still-living! The souls of two thousand dead still live within me! What can you, a man, do before the makings of a _god?"_

"I don't know, maybe there isn't much I can do," Greyson admitted. "The thing is, I'm not alone." He spread his arms. "We'll _all_ stop you, together. You will _never_ become a god. And something tells me you'll never meet one either."


	68. V4: Man of Two Thousand Souls

The hospital room was still. In one corner, near the window overlooking the crest of a verdant green hill in the city of Mistral, a soldier lay. He was hooked up to countless wires, each one connecting to a different device that contributed to the symphony of near-silent whirring, punctuated by occasional beeps. On the other side of the room, a nurse hunched over a table, scribbling notes onto her writing pad.

A streak of red shot in through the open window, and into the soldier's heart. His veins glowed softly the same color for several seconds.

The soldier's body suddenly jolted back into animation, causing the nurse to jump with fright as he gasped for air, thrashing in delirium. The nurse's writing pad clattered to the floor as she opened the door, signalling for a doctor.

At the edge of Greyson's neighborhood, two streaks shot into the shattered windows of a pair of cars. A man threw open his car door, shouting at the teenage driver he had collided with. He tromped around the back of his sedan in a rage, but the teenager stood outside his drivers' side door in shock, turning in a circle to witness the destruction that had suddenly taken place. One minute, he was driving home from school on an average rainy day. The next it was dark outside, the streets cracked and broken, stone spears rising from dirt and asphalt.

In Greyson's home, his mother and father's eyes snapped open simultaneously. They looked around in a daze, grasping for any physicality. They found each other. With a shriek, Greyson's mother dove to her daughter, who still lay on the ground.

Greyson's parents watched in amazement as a streak of green worked its way under the door. It snaked its way toward the two, danced around the two parents heads for a second, then flew into Holly. Still on the floor, the girl slowly sat up. She rubbed her eyes as if she had just woken up, then looked to her parents.

"Mama? What happened?" she asked.

"I... I don't know, dear," Mrs. Skye admitted. "Those people were at our door, then... I don't know. Everything was dark."

"What the hell?!" Mr. Skye yelled. He held his scroll up for his wife to see. "I was checking to see how many hours had passed, it's been _three days!_ "

Greyson's mother and sister met his father with looks of disbelief.

Vladimir turned his head slowly from one shoulder to the other, staring down the ten huntsmen that surrounded him. He grit his teeth. A handful of cloaked figures had begun to surround him as well, daggers at the ready. Others ran for the gap in the wall. It seemed only a fraction retained their loyalty, daggers and dust aimed at Twilight Crusade.

Greyson's eyes flicked once to his scroll, analyzing the status of his teammates. Only Alexandra and Azure were doing particularly well. Most of his teammates averaged at around half aura, with Kita and Raven dangerously low.

" _Two of our strongest. Damn,_ " Greyson noted to himself. He looked up. "Kita! Raven!" he called. "You two stay back!"

"I cannot stand idle as you fight!" Kita argued.

"This is a direct order!" Greyson demanded. He looked down, and took several seconds to type a message into his scroll to the two injured huntresses.

"Attack only when you know _for sure_ he's distracted."

Vladimir braced himself against the onslaught of huntsmen and cultists, raising shield and winding up Crimson Rook's electricity to drown out the shouting cheers that echoed off the castle walls.

"If he really does have two thousand souls inside of him, that's two hundred aura barriers per member of Twilight Crusade!" Greyson calculated out loud. He ducked under the swipe of a loyal cultist's dagger, and brought Blitz across the front of his cloak before dropping him to the ground with a shotgun blast. "He has the auras of an entire warrior village, but a lot of common people as well. If we assume an average of three solid hits per aura barrier.. _._ " Nimbus locked with another cultist's dagger. He plunged Blitz into his enemy's gut to deplete their aura, then spun to knock them to the ground with Nimbus's handle.

" _...Then that's six hundred hits per person!_ "

Greyson finally closed in on Vladimir. The grey-haired huntsman opened with a rapid string of six attacks, meant more to tire Vladimir than do any real damage. He finished with a swing of both weapons downward, but was blocked by a sideways lance. Vladimir cleaved in a semicircle, sending Greyson and a handful of cultists back with a pulse of electricity. Greyson worked his way to his feet, fending off a loyal cult member in the process.

Vladimir flinched as an icy arrow lodged in the back of his head, sending ripples of aura down his neck. He turned to block three rapid slashes from Dustyn. The huntsman was forced to duck under the swing of a cultist's blade, and he thrust Boomstick into his gut, then flung him over the heads of several cult members who had turned against Vladimir. Dustyn spun Boomstick once more, firing a pair of rounds into the hole Raven had punctured in Vladimir's shield. After a second, the shots exploded, and Vladimir stumbled backward. Kita took the opportunity to sprint past, slashing Vladimir's side.

Vladimir growled as he corrected his posture, which turned into a scream of rage. He swung Crimson Rook at Pierce, who bore down on him with Ace and Spade in tonfa form. The huntsman dodged with his semblance, but one hooded man was not as lucky. Vladimir held his shielded arm over his head to block Pierce's attack, and pulled Crimson rook from the bloody cloak to fire a grenade at Rusty and Raven.

"G-Get down!" Raven yelled. She and Rusty tumbled to the side just in time, the floor behind them erupting in flame. Alexandra held both hands outward, controlling the blast while Kita watched her back. The dust wielder twirled her right hand slowly, forming the levitating shrapnel into speartips of stone. They rained down on Vladimir, aura rippling twice around his body. As Alexandra launched the torrent of flame his way, Vladmir smashed four cultists into its path.

Alexandra dispersed her attack with a furious grimace. Her look turned to one of fear as Vladimir sent a bolt of red lightning her way. She raised a wall of stone, which cracked at the edges as the attack connected.

Greyson looked to the cultists. Several had already lost their lives in the battle, fueling their former leader's energy. More continued to fight on, but blended with the brethren they had turned against, into one confusing mass of possible enemies.

"Members of the Church of Awakening!" Greyson declared. "Please, leave this battle to us! Your efforts are appreciated, as are those who have lost their lives! But please!"

The mass began to disperse, still clashing blades and trading spears of ice with the members who remained loyal to their leader as they made for the hole in the wall.

Finally with an open opportunity, Alexandra let free a massive torrent of fire, dousing half the room in searing heat. Not giving Vladimir an opportunity to recuperate, she formed her wall into a single massive spire, and shot it toward him. He was knocked off balance, the attack chipping away at his rusted shield.

A shuriken thrown by glanced off his forehead, and both Pierce and Ember appeared behind him. Pierce slashed once with Ace and Spade, used his semblance to dodge a lance thrust, then spun with both blades, slashing down his opponent's back as he blocked Ember with his shield.

Vladimir launched another grenade into the ground at his feet, losing a handful of aural barriers but propelling himself backward and catching Ember halfway in the blast. Pierce was nearly pinned between Vladimir and a pillar of stone, but he used his semblance to blink away and help Ember to her feet. Vladimir shouted in pain as Alexandra smirked, turning the pillar behind him into a bed of stone spikes. At a distance from Twilight Crusade, Vladimir was met with a hail of arrows from Azure, bolts from Raven, dust from Alexandra, and bullets from Pierce and Dustyn.

He trudged forward, shield raised. Without warning, he shot toward Greyson.

The grey-haired huntsman ducked to the side just in time, deflecting his lance and answering with a bolt of lightning to the side. Vladimir lunged furiously at Greyson once again. Greyson spun around his lance thrust, and began an onslaught of attacks, all of which Vladimir blocked while fending off Ember as well. Vladimir quickly spun his weapon to deflect Greyson's final attack and punched him to the ground. Greyson rolled backward to avoid a lance that pierced the floor, but was blinded by a cloud of rocks his enemy flung upward. Without seeing what exactly had hit him, Greyson was forced down once again.

Vladimir prepared to impale the huntsman again. Behind, Azure lined up a shot, then twisted her handle until Moonbow glowed yellow. She let fly a single shot into his shoulder.

"Wh-What the hell?!" Vladimir shouted. "Why... Why can't I _move?!_ "

"Behind you," Azure replied, voice radiating cold fury.

From the side, Alexandra let loose a frenzy of stone spears from the ground. With each hit, Vladimir flinched and was forced backward. Azure joined in with several beams of ice dust, each one lingering for several seconds where they made impact.

The fight raged on for several more minutes. Every member of Twilight Crusade had reached their wits' end. Their movements were sluggish, their attacks either subdued or desperate; accompanied with labored gasps for breath. Greyson, Dustyn, and Ezelia formed the frontline, joined every few seconds by Pierce, Ember, and Kita ducking in and out to land a quick hit. They were supported by Rusty's grappling, along with Azure's arrows, and Raven's crossbow bolts aiding from afar. Alexandra joined in whenever she found an opening, launching spirals of flame and spears of stone.

Greyson's three attacks evenly met Vladimir's. He hopped backward to allow Dustyn an opening to fire, and allow himself a moment to breath. Dustyn ripped Vladimir's lance to the side as Ezelia landed a powerful blow into his shield from the other side. Following a wicked lightning bolt from Greyson that wore down two aural barriers, Dustyn shouted as he cleaved down on Vladimir's shoulder with both arms. Ezelia came in from the side, lodging Grimm Cat's sword form inside the hole in Vladimir's shield.

Vladimir grinned. "Thought you could hit me like that, could you?" he taunted.

"Nope!" Ezelia answered, returning his grin. She twisted her weapon slowly, the rusted sections of his shield crunching and grinding before chipping away. Ezelia pulled her weapon's trigger, and her weapon began to vibrate furiously, clattering against the shield it was stuck within.

"No- what are you-?" Vladimir protested. He grit his teeth and pointed his lance to her, opening his back to a storm of attacks from Greyson, Ember, Pierce, and Kita.

Ezelia screamed as electricity coursed through her body, but held her trigger down. The tip of Vladimir's lance folded open, and he pulled his trigger as well.

"SCATTER!" Greyson yelled.

With an ear shattering burst, both fighters were enveloped in a blindingly white explosion. Grimm Cat clattered across the floor, landing at Dustyn's feet. Ezelia was thrown across the ground, tumbling several times before colliding with the wall. Pinkish aura rippled around her body.

"EZELIA!" Dustyn screamed. He sprinted to her side, and propped her upright. She heaved for breath, blood gushing from a badly broken nose. What remained of her glasses frames were bent across her forehead, causing a strand of hair to stick out at an odd angle.

"I... I think I broke a rib or something," Ezelia managed, holding a hand just below her chest. "Did I get him though?"

Dustyn turned to look over his shoulder. Vladimir knelt, using Crimson Rook to rise to his feet as countless auras rippled around him. He shouted in fury, examining the mangled remains of his shield. The top half had completely blown off, rusted chips still raining through the air as countless particles. The bottom half was still attached to his arm, but had been partially torn by Ezelia's blade, then bent far out of shape by the blast.

"Yeah, you got him."

Vladimir heaved the remains of his shield at Ember as she sprinted at him, but she struck down the hunk of metal with both daggers and continued toward her target. She hopped over his strike, landing one foot on his weapon, planting a kick into his cheek and a thrown dagger into his neck before jumping out of the way.

Alexandra raised both arms, channelling a brutal hail of stone spikes from the ceiling. Vladimir raised his shield arm instinctively, but bellowed in agony as the attacks hit their mark. Alexandra finished her attack with a ball of flame sent his way. The attack seemed to hit once, then implode before detonating again, a shade of searing blue.

Out from the cloud of smoke that enveloped Vladimir, a red bolt of lightning flew. It hit the crumpled remnants of his shield, and wicked bolts of electricity flung wildly throughout the battlefield. Greyson's semblance kicked in, and he tackled Azure to the floor just in time to dodge a bolt. On the opposite side of battle, Alexandra was hit. Her muscles seized up for several seconds, before she was flung backward. Kita took a break from finishing the final loyal cultists to ensure Alexandra was okay. A third stray bolt knocked Pierce out of midair. He landed on the ground with a thud, bouncing once before clawing his way to hands and knees.

Rusty looked out across the battlefield. Two auras depleted just now, making five without any protection. Vladimir's numbers _must_ be dwindling, but there was no telling how many souls he had left. Rusty looked at the crimson-clad huntsman, noticing a segment of steel glimmering with the reflection of dancing flame. Rusty's gaze shifted to his scroll, but he swore.

"What's wrong?" Raven inquired.

"My aura's not quite as high as I would have liked," Rusty explained. He turned to Raven, then suddenly grabbed her tightly and kissed her. He smiled. "I love you!" he called before turning away, sprinting at Vladimir.

Vladimir's lance swung around but Rusty ducked under it, deflecting it with the string of Child's Play before throwing the head around and into the ground to secure the weapon. He dove at Vladimir's arm, wrapping both hands around his steel weapon's midsection.

"NO! GET BACK!" Vladimir shouted.

Rusty yelled as electricity coursed into his arms, vibrating his bones and searing his joints. He watched as a thick steam arose from his palms, but screamed louder as a brown wave of aura fizzled around them and up his arms, following a renewed current of excruciating electricity.

Suddenly, the current stopped. "What... WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Vladimir shouted.

Rusty stood dazed for a second, and Vladimir wound up his lance, aiming for the easy target's gut. His weapon shot forward like a missile.

It hit solid steel.

Raven had lunged forward with arm outstretched, knocking her boyfriend to the ground and intercepting Vladimir's attack. Using the momentum behind the vicious impact to her advantage, Raven spun around, channeling every last fiber of her strength into a final jumping slash down.

An ear-splitting crash of metal echoed across the room as Raven's sword met the rusted middle of Crimson Rook. Vladimir stumbled backward with a horrified look of shock etched upon his face. Black waves of aura rippled across his arm and across his chest.

Crimson Rook clattered to the ground, cleaved in half.

"No... NO! THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!" Vladimir shouted in fury. He held his arms out with palms facing upward. Beyond one arm, Crimson Rook lay in two pieces on the floor. His shield had completely been destroyed, leaving his other arm bare. His head snapped to Greyson. "I... I'LL KILL YOU!"

Vladimir made a mad dash for the huntsman, and was bombarded by a plethora of arrows, crossbow bolts, and bullets. Each left a small ripple of red across his body. Greyson took aim and fired a single lightning bolt into Vladimir's chest, and he crumpled to the ground. After several seconds, he pushed himself back up to his feet, gasping for breath with each labored step.

From the side, Ember flung a single dagger into his knee. The tip of her blade paused for a split second as waves of crimson overtook Vladimir's body, then sunk deep into his flesh.

Vladimir shouted in agony, falling once more to the ground. He scratched his way forward several feet, leaving a trail of blood behind him and screaming with each movement. Finally, He propped himself upright, to a kneeling position.

Greyson walked forward slowly, grey flame still trailing behind his body. He rose Blitz and Nimbus to cross Vladimir's throat. "Do you have any last words? Anything you'd like to say for yourself?" he calmly asked.

Vladimir grinned.

"Not a single word."

Greyson nodded. His grip on his weapons tightened, but he hesitated for a second. He lowered both arms, turning around to Azure who stood several paces behind him. "Azure," he said. "He's been your enemy longer than he's been mine."

Azure paused in modest surprise for a second, but nodded. She stood straight upright, feet parallel to the line of fire. Her chin rotated until it aligned with her shoulder, and she lined up a single shot, slowly and perfectly. She let fly.

Her beam of azure blue struck perfectly between Vladimir's eyes.

The huntsman fell backward in slow motion. A near endless fountain of color, _every color imaginable_ , shot from the wound and straight into the night sky. Every member of Twilight Crusade stopped where they stood, revelling in the magnificent sight. Many of the auras, hazy, glimmering streaks of a certain color, danced around the members of Twilight Crusade before firing off into the night sky, as if thanking the huntsmen for their freedom.

Many more split off from the group, and formed a single streak of shimmering blue and gold, firing into Azure's heart.

The huntress paused.

"Azure!" Raven called.

"I'm... I'm okay," Azure said. She felt the area of impact. "It doesn't hurt, and I don't think she skin is broken..."

"So... does this mean we won?" Ember questioned.

"We won!" Alexandra exclaimed. She jumped at Kita and the huntress barely had time to undo her mask before Alexandra embraced her. She lifted the dust wielder from her feet and the two twirled around in excitement, holding each other and kissing. "And everyone _lived!_ " Alexandra added.

"We won, man! We did it!" Rusty declared. He shook Dustyn's hand, pulling him closer and patting him on the back.

"Yeah. We did it."

"Good job, everyone," Greyson managed. The grey fire around him dimmed, before flickering once and going out. "It's... It's good to see you all again."

Greyson began to fall, his lower half forward and upper half falling back. His mouth and eyes hung open slightly, a remnant of his last words. The concerned calls from his friends faded into nothingness.

 **Happy New Year! Tomorrow the story of Twilight Crusade finally comes to its end!**


	69. Eternity

Greyson's eyes opened slowly to the scene that had become all too familiar over the last two months; the brightly-lit, sterile hospital room overlooking much of downtown Mistral. He had a routine of sorts, wake up, be helped into the shower, eat whatever breakfast was assigned in the cafeteria, then spend the rest of the day in his room with Azure and whoever else decided to drop by. Occasionally, he would get outside the hospital for a breath of fresh air. These days were few and far between, and relied entirely on the weather, so Greyson never let himself get too excited for when the next would come.

Azure spent every day at Greyson's side. Usually, she would drive in with Greyson's father before work, and take transit back home at night. Sometimes, Greyson's father would visit after work, and give Azure a ride back to Hajimaru when the hospital closed. On Greyson's worst days, she would stay with him from open until close, checking out a room at a nearby hotel for the night and arriving first thing the next morning.

Yet, this morning was different. All of Twilight Crusade stood around him, accompanied by a handful of doctors and his family.

"He's awake!" Azure exclaimed excitedly. She leaned over his bedside to hug him. "Good morning!"

"H-Happy release day!" Raven added. She held out a cardboard box. "H-Here! Azure and I baked these, f-for you!"

Greyson smiled, and took the box in his hands. He opened it, revealing a gorgeous selection of brownies, eclairs, macarons, and various other kinds of pastries.

"Two months, man?" Rusty teased. "It's not like you to be out of commission so long!"

"Yeah, they only kept me for four days! You hadn't even woken up by then!" Ezelia added.

"Well, I had a hole in my guts the size of a grapefruit, that's not good for people," Greyson retorted. He looked up to Raven, then Azure. "Thank you. They look delicious."

The doctors lifted Greyson, helping him to the wheelchair that sat next to his bed. Azure fit his shoes onto his feet, and propped them up onto the chair's pedals. Greyson balled his fist, glancing bitterly to the side as she did so. Her face came up to meet his, and she smiled.

"Come on! We've been planning this for three weeks now, aren't you excited?!" she brightly inquired.

Greyson sighed, then nodded. "It'll be nice to get out."

Azure wheeled him out of the room, but stopped suddenly just outside the doorway. Greyson's eyes met the legs of a charcoal grey pantsuit. His eyes travelled upward across the woman's matching blazer until he locked eyes with her.

"Oh... Prosecutor," Greyson greeted in surprise, nodding once out of respect. He managed a nervous laugh. "Catch a break from the Church of Awakening cases?"

Prosecutor Slate shook her head. "I wish. I won't be surprised if sorting these cases out takes the rest of the year." She checked her wristwatch. "Anyway, I came to say congratulations. As of today, you're a free man."

Greyson cocked his head in surprise. "You mean- are we...?"

The prosecutor nodded. "In light of the events at the courthouse, and the attack in Hajimaru, we've decided to drop all charges against Twilight Crusade." She turned to Raven. "The death of Lucius Garnett has been written off as self-defense. Self defense gone _terribly wrong_ , but self-defense nonetheless."

Greyson grinned from ear to ear, as did the rest of Twilight Crusade. They thanked her excitedly, tapping and nudging each other as if verifying they truly were exonerated.

"Haven Academy offers alternative huntsman courses for special cases," Shale began. "I've contacted them, and they agree that a group mostly from Beacon Academy, who has proven themselves time and time again, are special cases." She pulled a bundle of business cards from her breast pocket, and handed them to Azure. "It consists of two ten-week courses, and rigorous practical exams. You'll find the contact information here. Don't lose it."

"Thank you, so much!" Azure returned, taking the cards. She undid the rubber band, and handed them out among her friends.

"My pleasure," the prosecutor answered. She looked looked to Greyson. "Good luck with physical therapy," she offered. She turned halfway, then turned back. "...And goodbye. You've been by far my most memorable case. But I hope this is the last time I see you."

Greyson chuckled quietly and nodded. The prosecutor turned and walked down the hallway, her heels knocking loudly on the floor with each step.

It was the middle of May, but it had been an exceptionally rainy Spring. Temperatures had been warming up for the last week or so, and finally soared well above seventy degrees, nearing eighty. Greyson thanked the higher powers above that the rented van all of his friends had packed into had a powerful air conditioner.

Dustyn drove, with Ezelia in the passenger seat. Greyson sat in the middle one row back, between Azure and Rusty. From his position, he could see out the front window as the van sped along the freeway due East. They drove among the many entangled overpasses and tunnels of the city, before breaking free into the straight stretch between Mistral and the ocean.

Twilight Crusade continued on for over an hour, until reaching the crest of a hill with a gentle turn to the left. Amazed gasps escaped the members of Twilight Crusade, and they piled up against each other to one side of the van as the view displayed itself. They were several hundred feet up, on the coast of a vast ocean. Down the road to the left, a gorgeous beach city, glass buildings reflecting the ocean and hills of verdant green they were nestled between. Across the street was a wide beach, dotted with tourists and colorful umbrellas. Dozens of carts were pushed up and down the boardwalk, each selling ice cream, specialty foods, and souvenirs.

Dustyn slowed as he rounded the corner above it all. The ocean laid out in front of Twilight Crusade was inconceivably vast, the sun in the deep azure sky above shimmering on the crests of the ocean's ripples. Waves lazily flowed onto the beach and ebbed back, repeating the process in an eternal dance.

Twilight Crusade's van began to speed up again, down the hill on the way into the city.

"Huh, this really feels like the end of an era, doesn't it?" Rusty commented, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms behind his head.

Raven leaned in from her position behind him. "Yeah... I feel like I've known you guys, f-for like five years. It's really been less than two?"

"Even less for me!" Alexandra added. She took Kita's arm in her own. "So... what do we do now? I mean, there are still grimm, but I feel like Twilight Crusade was Greyson's thing, you know?"

"Twilight Crusade is everybody's thing," Greyson answered. "If you guys get a call, or the grimm attack somewhere, you guys go ahead." He grit his teeth, then rubbed his wound. "But I think I've been forced into an early retirement..."

"I'd rather keep fighting grimm than get a job somewhere," Dustyn stated, taking his eyes off the road for a second. "The real world is a scary place."

"The life of a huntress isn't the life for me," Alexandra decided. "Always having someone or some _thing_ trying to kill you? No thanks. Had enough near death in the desert." She looked out the window. "I wanna go to school. I don't know how much it costs, but I'm pretty sure I at least know enough to get into a community college or something."

"Yeah, wait," Rusty interrupted. "Dustyn. You think grimm _aren't_ scary?"

"Hey, grimm don't evict you if you don't pay rent!" Dustyn defended.

" _No one_ is getting evicted," Azure pledged. "Right now, my family owns a large portion of Garnett Jewelers too. We have an _absurd_ amount of money. I'll help you guys get onto your feet." She turned around to Alexandra with a bright smile. "I'll help you find a good college, and help you study to prepare for it!"

"A-And I'll help with your entrance essays!" Raven added.

"Oh... Oh wow," Alexandra responded, looking around to her friends. "Thanks, you guys!"

The van parked in the last space in a lot just across the street from the boardwalk. Greyson rolled down the wheelchair ramp, squinting as the sun hit his eyes and feeling the pleasant warmth on his skin. Above the noise of the roadway, Greyson could hear the calls of the gulls above, the cries of playing children, and the constant roar of the ocean. Azure pushed Greyson's chair over cracks in the asphalt, but otherwise he insisted on pushing himself along.

Twilight Crusade spent some time strolling on the boardwalk. Rusty and Raven, along with Alexandra and Kita, all bought ice cream from one food stand, while the rest tried specialty foods from another, the kebabs and rice dishes warm, fresh, and delicious. After a while, they came to a ramp onto the beach.

Greyson pushed his chair to the edge of the sand, but his wheels became lodged in it. He continued to push with all the strength in his arms, gaining only a few inches after several attempts. He sat back, sighing in frustration.

"Oh- hey, guys? Could we get a little help?" Azure called, returning to Greyson.

Rusty and Pierce came to Greyson's side, helping support his weight. They took him to the spot about a dozen feet onto the beach where Azure had dropped her bag, then set him down. After setting Greyson's wheelchair onto the sand beside him, she spread out a pair of beach towels. Using only his arms, Greyson pulled himself onto his.

Alexandra and Kita sunbathed further down the beach, closer to the waves. At the water's edge, Rusty, Raven, Dustyn and Ezelia worked together to bring about the beginning of an empire forged in sand. They decorated the largest sandy lumps of the metropolis with seashells and rocks, and built a surprisingly large wall in a valiant attempt to keep the ocean's approaching waves at bay. Alexandra sat up from her spot next to Kita, and looked at the four.

She turned to her girlfriend with a sly grin. "Mind if I join them for a moment?" she asked.

Kita looked to the four, then to Alexandra. She smiled as well. "Not at all," she replied.

"Not a bad city you've got there," Alexandra teased. She grinned, and held her hands in front of her. Slowly, a metropolis built to rival downtown Vale rose from the sand. The sharp corners on each building, as well as the detailed streets and miniature cars Alexandra added with a sweep of her arm serving to mock Rusty, Raven, Dustyn, and Ezelia.

"That's _so_ unfair..." Rusty protested.

"Here," Alexandra offered. She raised one arm toward their city, and enforced their wall with the surrounding sand until it stood nearly as tall as she.

She walked back to Kita as a swarm of children flocked to the city of sand she had created, some trying to get her to make sandcastles of their own.

"Hey, do you think Ember and Pierce are like... a couple now?" Azure quietly asked aside to Greyson. He could see the pair under the parasol they had brought to keep in the shade as they read and sipped from the fancy glasses of lemonade they bought earlier. Pierce sat upright with his legs crossed while Ember lay down, her upper back propped up on Pierce's lap.

"It kind of looks like it," Greyson noted. "They've been busy with preparing for that huntsman license course, so I haven't seen them much though." He cocked his head curiously as Pierce lowered his glass of lemonade in front of Ember, and she took a sip.

"...It _definitely_ looks like it."

"That's cute," Azure decided. "I know Pierce and I are like, the _least_ friendly to each other of anyone on Twilight Crusade, but I'm happy for them."

"Yeah."

"Gosh, I'm happy for everyone!" Azure continued. She sat up, turning to face Greyson with a bright smile. "Everyone's in such happy relationships, and we're all such good friends! I... I want it to be just like this forever!"

"Yeah."

"Is something wrong?"

Greyson sighed, and looked down to his legs. His voice caught in his throat, and his vision got cloudy. "If... If you don't want to be with me anymore, I-I would understand," he managed.

"What?!" Azure shrieked.

"You heard the doctors," Greyson inisted. "You were there when they told me I'd probably never walk again."

Azure looked at Greyson in shock.

"You already deserved better. I would understand if you didn't want to be with me now that I can't even walk for myself," Greyson continued. "I'm going to be _such_ a burden."

"Greyson!" Azure interjected. "I'm honestly a little offended you would even bring this up! What kind of girl do you think I am?!"

"I... I just-"

"Stop. This hasn't changed who you are. You're the person I fell in love with. The person I'm in love with! We're gonna get through this together, got it?"

Greyson looked to her with mouth hanging open slightly, a single tear falling from his red, cloudy eyes.

"I swear. I'm going to walk again," he pledged. "I'm going to walk again, and my very first steps will down the aisle on our wedding day!"

Azure began to cry as well, her tears coming from joy. She smiled the widest grin Greyson had ever seen, and his eyes locked with hers. The sun reflected off their sapphire blue, mirroring the ocean past them. Greyson could not help but remember when their eyes first met, in the Emerald Forest two years earlier. Back then, he thought it meant four years together.

This time, he knew it meant eternity.

 **The end.**


	70. So what do we do now?

**Greyson:** Due to the injury sustained in his fight with Vladimir, Greyson never hunted grimm again. He adjusted rather poorly to his new, slowed-down lifestyle, and all but disappeared to everyone except Azure for the next two years. However, he suddenly emerged with a new-found resolve, and along with the Schnee Dust Company's help, founded Sentinel Academy, a school designed to train the next generation of warriors to defend the world against whatever threats loom ahead.

 **Azure:** Soon after Twilight Crusade's victory, Azure enrolled in medical school. After her laborious education, that took her all over Remnant, she began permanent work in the new Frontline Medical Center. In her time there, she was credited with many "miracle recoveries"- curing terminal patients to full health. Once it formed, Azure took on dual responsibilities as head nurse and headmistress of Sentinel Academy. She and Greyson were seldom seen apart.

 **Raven:** Though mostly retiring as a huntress, Raven went on to become a "Jill of all trades." She became an advocate for human-faunus equality and mental health awareness, and published a widely-read and critically acclaimed book series based on Twilight Crusade's adventures (but fictionalized, to protect Ember and Pierce's identities). Finally, she became a much-loved professor of human-faunus history at Sentinel Academy.

 **Rusty:** Immediately after the conflict is when Rusty found the most success. He opened a video game channel on the internet, and soon became famous, often featuring Raven in his videos. He experimented as a professor at Sentinel Academy, but soon found the job was not for him. He then went on to hold a steady job at an electronics company. Though never much of a reader, he considered himself to be his wife's biggest fan.

 **Ember:** After taking Shale Slate up on her offer, Ember was a huntress for several years. In her late twenties, she decided to spend some time on the other side of the law, and became a police officer. She quickly climbed through the ranks and became known for her sharp intellect, quick wit, and near-impossible knowledge of the criminal mind. She helped rehabilitate multiple young criminals over the course of her career, turning them to a lawful, productive life. No one ever discovered her past identity.

 **Pierce:** Pierce also took Prosecutor Slate up on her offer, and graduated the provisional huntsman course at the top of his class. He took dangerous assignments all over Remnant, and soon began to earn top dollar for his services as word of his name spread.

 **Dustyn:** Dustyn followed in his father's footsteps, enrolling in school to become a police officer soon after the Church of Awakening's defeat. He was a well-respected officer, and remained on the police force for decades.

 **Ezelia** : Ezelia's passion for grimm biology never faded, though she did eventually gain a respect for basic rules of scientific safety. She as well became a professor at Sentinel. Though her over-the-top attitude wasn't for everyone, no one could doubt her passion for the subject and memory of Grimm Studies class. With Raven's help in writing and editing her scattered thoughts, she published multiple editions of textbooks on grimm that were used in all major huntsman academies.

 **Kita:** Kita was the third to accept Prosecutor Slate's offer. Though word of her name (and of her face) spread less than that of Pierce, her services were no less effective. She, Ember, and Pierce often worked together on the most difficult assignments, splitting the money evenly. After many years, Kita became head of security at Sentinel Academy. Though she was rarely seen, she was rumored to continue her role as Greyson's personal bodyguard. She returned to the Shrouded Fox to visit when she could, and with her vast worldly knowledge and battle experience, was revered almost as a holy figure.

 **Alexandra:** As she was never formally educated, community college was a brutal transition for Alexandra. However, she ended up graduating with honors, and went on to take over Garnett Jewelers, which had been temporarily owned by Mistral's branch of the Schnee Dust Company. In honor of her family, she renamed the disgraced company to Inyan Jewelers, and slowly began to restore its reputation. Though she often worried for her huntress girlfriend's safety, she was always there at the end of the day with open arms and a warm cup of tea.

Though their lives brought the same amount of uncertainty as anyone's, each member of Twilight Crusade knew one thing. They had found the friends, and partners, they would spend the rest of their life with.

 **Wow. After 5 years and 3 versions, the story is over. I don't even know if I ever knew what bittersweet meant until now. Of course I'm happy I've finally completed it, but I'm practically saying goodbye to the characters that have been a huge part of my life for a quarter of it now.**

 **This is a huge thank you to everyone who stuck with my story, from its humble beginnings to the epic tale it became. In no particular order, this is a huge thank you to the guy on my original DeviantArt back in 2013 who convinced me not to give up, Klyde Barrow, G3r1k, BloodAngelsCaptain1, Gh0st495, Frozenhero224, "Guest," "Someone," LiveTake, the Grail Academy Discord, and Eeveecat1248. You, my loyal reviewers and friends, were what encouraged me and guided my hands to the keys for the next chapter. Everyone who's stuck with my story, I ask for one last review. Tell me what you think. I want to know who your favorites are, along with your favorite arcs and chapters, and what I should improve on.**

 **Of course, thank you to the most important of all, Monty Oum. Without him, none of my characters would have ever been born. I probably never would have found my passion for writing and storytelling.**

 **From here on, I'm not sure yet what's going to happen. I'll probably start by replacing my oldest chapters with ones more newly written, as I'm not happy with my older writing or characterization anymore. Perhaps I'll do Twilight Crusade "OVAs" here and there, when things happen in the RWBY universe my characters can be included in. Maybe I'll write origin stories for each character, a couple chapters each. For now, if you want more content, follow my tumblr. Same name as on here.**

 **One thing's for sure though. I'm not done writing.**

 **Stay tuned.**

 **Edit; 3-14-2019**

 **The Apoptosis Project.**

 **01-01-2020.**


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